Changes
by parsda
Summary: Stephanie has to make some choices when things change.
1. Chapter 1

**Changes**

~1~

Steph looked at him and said, "Joe, I can't do this anymore. You've lied to me and I caught you cheating on me. I'm done with you and am leaving you. I will stop back sometime when you're at work to pick up my stuff. I can't believe I thought you could be trusted with my heart. You know how I am about trust since my divorce. I can't believe it, I thought you were better than him. I thought you loved me."

"I do love you Steph. I'm sorry but I really don't have a reason for doing it. I don't know what's wrong with me, but I can't seem to stay in a faithful relationship. I'll head out for a few hours away now so you can get your stuff now and not have to worry about coming back."

He walked over and went to kiss her on the cheek, but she turned away from him. He took the hint and grabbed his keys and walked out of the door. Steph heard the door shut and turned back around and had tears running down her face. She gave a big sigh and went into the bedroom to grab her clothes and bathroom items. She came back downstairs and grabbed Rex off the bathroom counter. She was headed out the door with everything when she realized she didn't have her car with her. Her fairly new (to her) car was in the shop getting repaired. She had gotten dropped off by Lula after they were done with work and now was locked out of the house, having left her key on the kitchen counter, with all of her belongings and Rex sitting on the front porch. She let out another big sigh and pulled her phone out of her purse. She tried her parent's house but they didn't answer. Her sister didn't answer. Lula didn't answer. She let out yet another big sigh and called the last person that she wanted to, but really had no choice unless she wanted to walk the two miles home with all of her stuff and Rex.

She hit the appropriate speed dial number and heard, "Babe, you okay?" "I've been better. I'm locked out of Joe's house and I need a ride home. Do you have any of the guys close by that they can pick me up?" "Did you try to call Morelli?" "Not an option anymore. Can you just send one of the guys?"

"I'll take care of it, Babe", and with that the call disconnected. She shoved the phone back in her purse and sat down next to Rex's cage and waited. She looked up when she heard a car door shutting and thinking it was Lester or Tank, said "Boy, am I glad to see you." She heard a chuckle and looked up to see Ranger standing against the side of his car.

"Babe."

"I didn't mean to pull you away from work. I thought you'd send one of the guys that were out on patrol in the area."

"I was available so I decided to come. I can leave if you don't want me here."

Steph looked at him and sighed and said, "No, its fine. Can you just drop me at my apartment?" He gave a funny look and then just nodded. He helped put her stuff in the car and in a few minutes they were pulling into her parking lot.

Steph got out and grabbed her stuff and started walking towards the apartment door. She got to the door and turned around to look at Ranger. He was just standing there, staring at her. "Thanks for the ride Ranger. I get my car back tomorrow, so I shouldn't need to bother you again."

"Babe, you're never a bother. Are you okay?"

"Yeah, just tired. See you and thanks again." With that being said, she walked into the building and pulled the door shut behind her.

Ranger stood there for few minutes before he followed her into the building. He climbed the stairs to her floor and stood outside her closed apartment door. He could hear her talking to the rat in the cage and then he raised his hand to knock on the door when he heard her crying. He was torn on what to do. He knew that something was wrong with her, more than just the weekly breakup with Morelli. He stood for a few minutes and then when he heard her sobs quieting down, and then heard the beginning of a movie starting, he walked back down the stairs and got in his car and drove back to the office. He wanted to talk to the guys to see if they knew what was going on with Stephanie.

Ranger called the core team into his office once he was back and asked if they knew what was going on with Stephanie. The guys looked at each other, but no one said a word. "Someone tell me what's going on and why you won't answer my question."

They still looked at each other and then finally Lester let out a sigh and said, "It was announced last week while you were gone that Vinnie is closing his office next week and Steph's out of a job. He found someone to buy it and they are bringing in new staff so all of the girls are out of a job. We told her that she was welcome to work here full time, but she declined and said she didn't want to screw up your company."

Ranger started to speak, but Lester shook his head and interrupted him. "We know. We told her that wouldn't happen and that she did great work for us when she worked here in the past. We've all been working on her to get her to change her mind, but she won't budge. What happened that you had to go pick her up? I thought she had a pretty decent car right now and I didn't hear any reports of any explosions."

Ranger looked at him and quirked an eyebrow, asking permission to speak. Lester gestured to him to start talking.

"Thank you for letting me speak in my own office. I don't know what's going on, just that Steph called a lit bit ago and ask if I could send one of the guys to pick her up. I decided to get out of the office and went to get her myself. I looked up her tracker information and saw she was at Morelli's. I pulled up and she was sitting on the front porch with the rat in his cage and a basket of clothes and other female stuff." When he said that, all of the shuddered.

"She seemed surprised to see it was me but just said that she was locked out of the house and needed a ride home. I asked about calling Morelli and she said it wasn't an option so I helped her put her stuff and the rat in my car and I drove her home. When we got there, I tried to help her in, but she practically ran inside so I let her go. I waited a few minutes and then headed up to her apartment. I heard her talking to the rat and then she started crying. I was going to knock on the door but I heard the television go on and the crying seemed to stop so I decided to leave her alone for now."

Bobby spoke up and said, "I think she's depressed about losing her job and doesn't know what she's going to do. Her life is changing and she's not sure if it's for the better and she doesn't know how to handle the changes. I got the feeling after Lester and I talked to her the other day that she wanted to come back to work here, but felt that she wasn't qualified to and she kept saying how didn't want to hurt the company. I think if you talk to her and offer her training and a job after the training is over, really sweet talk her and maybe even bat your eyes at her, she might agree."

Ranger looked at him and said, "Bat my eyes? What am I? A twelve year old girl?"

Lester spoke up and said, "Bossman, she will only come here if you tell her how much you want her to and how much it would mean to you and to the company. Maybe offer to send her to classes for office stuff and we can take care of the training here when she's not in classes. Offer her an apartment and throw meals by Ella in and I think you'll have her. This place needs her, hell, we all need her, and it will only happen if you do the offering."

Ranger looked at all of them and they were all shaking their heads in agreement to what Lester said. "What about the rest of the guys? How do they feel about working with Steph? She doesn't have the greatest track record working with some of them and a few have had to go to the ER after working with her. "

Tank spoke finally at this point. "While you were gone last week, we all talked about it in the last staff meeting. They all want her here and with the proper classes and training, they feel that she will be a good addition to the RangeMan family. Hell, Hector even smiled at the meeting and said he'd teach her Spanish if you can get her here."

Ranger sat for a minute and then finally said, "Okay, I'll see what I can do, but I'm not batting my eyes at her. Let me put together an offer for her and we can call her in and present it to her in a formal meeting, with just the core team. Hopefully, she'll agree and we can get her moved in here before her money runs out and she has to move in with her parents." They all shuttered at that thought. "I'll go and talk to her in the morning."

~2~

Ranger pulled up to Steph's building the next morning and got out of his car carrying a folder with her work offer and a bag of donuts. He walked up the stairs to her door and knocked. No answer. He knocked again, still no answer. He picked the lock and walked in, now with his gun drawn. He found her in her bedroom, sound asleep. From the empty food wrappers and containers scattered about, he knew that she had had a long night. He set the folder and donuts on the kitchen counter and started a pot of coffee. The coffee was almost done when he heard her stirring in the bedroom.

"Well, most people who break in here don't make coffee. That's not how a break in usually works."

He looked at her and smiled. He handed her a cup of coffee and the bag of donuts. He gestured for her to sit down at the table and he joined her. She had already pulled out one of the donuts and was sipping her coffee when he sat down.

"So, you gonna tell me what's going on and why you felt the urge to break in and give me breakfast?"

Ranger sat and didn't say anything for a minute. He just stared at her while she ate her donut. He almost groaned when she licked her fingers. Finally he took a deep breath and started talking. "Babe, I heard about Vinnie selling his office. Do you have any idea what you're going to do after it's closed?"

"Nope." She said nothing further and pulled the second donut out of the bag. She offered it to him and then laughed when he shook his head no at her offer.

"The guys told me they offered you a job and you turned them down. Any reason for that?"

"I don't want to cause problems for your business Ranger. You worked hard to build up that company and I don't want to be the reason it goes under. Everything I touch turns to crap."

"Babe, first of all, nothing you touch has ever turned to crap. Secondly, each time you've work for me, you've helped bring a profit to the company. Every distraction you help with brings in a large capture fee and while you only will accept the amount of money that you needed at the time, you still earned more than you took. I've been putting the rest into an account for you and whenever you want it, I'll give it to you."

She sat and just stared at him, not saying a word. He continued, "Third, your spidey-senses have helped solve a number of jobs for us and once again, brought the company a profit. Fourth, your searching skills and knowledge of the people in Trenton, have helped the guys capture a large number of FTA's and once again, brought money into the company. Again, you wouldn't accept much for your part in those captures, so those remaining amounts are also in your account. Babe, you already are an employee of the company whether you admit or not, just not full time."

She still sat and stared, saying nothing. Her mouth was hanging open a bit so he reached over and gently pulled her chin up to close her mouth. That seemed to jolt her out of her stupor and she finally said, "What?"

Ranger laughed and reached for the folder he brought with him. "Babe, the core team and I met last night and we have decided to offer you a full time position. We would like you to take a few business classes and go through the training program that all employees follow. The offer includes an apartment in the building as well as full use of anything in the building, which includes Ella's cooking." With that said, he handed her the folder. "Take a few days and look over the offer and then get in touch. Any of us are available to answer any questions you have about it. Let me know when you've made a decision."

He stood up and dropped a kiss on top of her head and walked out the door.

Steph picked up the folder and opened it up. She never expected Ranger to do anything like this. She had hoped he would offer to let her run searches while she was looking for a new job, but this, this was too much to ever imagine. She looked at the first page and paled. "Holy crap." She picked up her phone and dialed. When it was answered all she said was, "I need you, get your ass over here" and then she hung up. She flipped through the pages of the offer and the more she read, the more she felt like fainting. Ranger must be out of his mind to offer all of this to her. Her, who can't keep a car from blowing up once a month. Her, who can't seem to catch anyone under the age of 80 without some sort of mishap. Her, who never had enough money, seemed to have a secret bank account and when she saw the amount listed in said account, dropped the folder and leaned over to put her head between her knees. There was no way she had that much money.

Her door opened and he walked into the kitchen and saw her bent over with her head between her knees. He dropped down at her feet and looked at her. "Beautiful, are you okay?"

~3~

She sat back up and picked up the folder and waved it in front of Lester. "Ranger…he…offered…money…too…" She couldn't complete a sentence and pushed the folder over to him. He picked it up and opened it. As he read, he made sounds of agreement and then when he closed it he looked over at her and smiled. "Looks like he put everything in that we'd talked about, even Ella's cooking. What do you think?"

"Les, did you see the amount he wants to pay me?"

"Well, it is a little bit less than what a few of the guys started at, but they had more training than you do, but I image you'd get a bump in the salary once you complete the training program we've put together for you."

"Les, it's too much. The salary is too much, the apartment, even Ella. Did you know about the bank account?"

"Steph, we all agreed to set up the bank account for you. You would constantly refuse money from Ranger for doing the distractions and for your cut of the capture money the company earned from what you found in your searches. There was no way to force you to take it so we set up the account and have invested part of it, so I'm sure the total amount is more than what's listed there."

"But, "

"Steph, please accept this offer. Ranger wouldn't have gone along with this if he didn't want you at the company. Classes start in about a week so that would give you time to get moved into the building and get settled. Please say yes, we all need you."

She looked at Lester and laughed. He was sitting at her table batting his eyes at her.

"What are you doing? You look like an idiot."

Lester laughed. "Bobby told Ranger to bat his eyes at you if he thought you needed more inspiration to take the job. I assume he didn't do it so I thought I'd give it a try. Did it work?"

"You look like you're having seizure so stop it. I don't know what to do. Give a few days and I'll think about it."

"Ok, if that's the best you can do, then I'll take it. Go get dressed and I'll take you out to breakfast."

"Ranger already brought me donuts, but I could stand a trip to the grocery store to stock up on thinking food. You can also drop me off to pick up my car, it's supposed to be ready today."

Once she left the room, he pulled out his phone and sent off a text to the core team. "Some progress, but nothing confirmed. Heading to store for "thinking food", whatever the hell that is."

She came out and they headed out to Lester's car. They got in and headed to the grocery store. She had filled up a cart with cookies, frozen pizza, chocolate cake, peanut butter, kool-aid, and when they got to the ice cream section, she stopped and sighed. "There's my two favorite guys." She opened the freezer door and Lester saw it was the Ben and Jerry section. He watched her put about ten different pints into the cart and when he looked at her, she just smiled and pushed the cart to the next part of the store. She stopped in the alcohol section and put in a few bottles of wine, some beer and was standing trying to decide between tequila and rum, when Lester grabbed a bottle of each and put them in the cart. He then pushed the cart over to what Steph called the "Ranger Aisles" and put in some healthier food for her to also eat. "I assume I'll be invited to the drinking part of the evening and I'll be hungry so I want to make sure I don't have to eat your crappy food."

She punched him in the arm and he smiled. He pushed the cart to the check out and insisted on paying for everything. He told her that it was a Rangeman related expense so she wasn't allowed to pay. They loaded up the bags and then he took her to get her car. When they got there, she was talking to one of the guys she knew that worked there and without her knowing, Lester talked to the guy who had worked on her car and paid him not only for the repairs, but also to have him tell Steph that her car wasn't ready yet because they had to order a part that was coming from far away and wouldn't be ready for another week. He was hoping that she would accept the job and then would be able to sell her latest piece of junk and drive her new Rangeman car.

She seemed dejected that her car wasn't ready but seemed to perk up once they got back to her apartment. Lester helped carry in the bags and put away the food. She told him he could leave and she'd call him if she had any questions. He kissed her cheek and walked back to his car and drove back to the office.

When he pulled in, the guys were all waiting in the garage for him. "I bought her groceries and told her it was a Rangeman expense just so she would still have some money left. She doesn't want to touch her "secret bank account" as she called it. I also paid for her car repairs and paid the guy to lie to her and tell her it was going to be another week before it's done. Hopefully she takes the job and doesn't have to drive that piece of crap again." The guys seemed satisfied with that and they all headed upstairs. He went into Ranger's office and told everything to him. Ranger asked for Lester's opinion as to if she'll take the job. "I think she will but give her a few days. I'll have Ella send over some cookies to her tomorrow and hopefully that will help her decide. She did get a bottle of tequila and a bottle of rum, along with about ten cartons of ice cream. I hope she paces herself with all the junk food she got today. I was getting sick just watching everything she was putting in the cart."


	2. Chapter 2

~4~

They didn't hear from her the rest of that day. Lester had to stop himself a few times from calling or texting her and Ranger had to stop himself from going over to see her. Ranger had asked the guys out on patrol to keep an eye on her building and let him know if anything seemed out of place. The last patrol had radioed in that everything seemed okay. It was now about 12 hours from when Ranger dropped off the contract.

Both of the men were about to go crazy when they each got a text from Steph. She had questions for both of them and wanted them to come over to be with her. They both went to the garage and were soon headed to her apartment. They both thought that it was going to go in their favor, as questions from Steph usually meant she was really interested. Silence from her usually meant she wasn't interested and had dismissed it.

They practically ran up the stairs and found her door open. They automatically drew their guns and went into what Steph liked to call "Ranger mode". They crept into her apartment and didn't see her. They didn't hear anything except the rat running on his wheel. The kitchen table was covered with the pages from the contract and from what they could see, it looked like a red pen had thrown up on the paper. Apparently, she wanted some changes made to it. They were in the process of clearing the rest of the apartment when Steph came out from the bathroom. She let out a yell when she saw the guns.

"I was in the bathroom, what is wrong with you two guys?"

They both put the guns away and looked at her. "Babe, your front door was open and you were not anywhere in sight." Lester added, "Besides, from the looks of the mess on your table, there could have been a struggle."

"I opened the door a crack because I knew I would be in the bathroom when you got here. And, the mess on the table is my attempt to make sense of that ream of paper you call a contract. Seriously Ranger, could you have made it any more confusing? That's why I called you both over here. I need some help understanding parts of it and I want both of your explanations. Ranger's is the business side of things and Lester, you provide the common sense of things."

They both looked at her and smiled. Ranger gestured towards the table and they all sat down. Lester looked at the bottle of tequila sitting there and raised his eyebrows at her. "When we get this hashed out, we'll drink."

By the end of the first hour, Lester had gone to the kitchen and came back with a couple tubs of the ice cream she hadn't eaten yet. At the end of the second hour of negotiations, Ranger had sent a text to Tank to bring pizza. It was the end of the third hour when Tank and Bobby appeared with pizza and beer. Steph excused herself for a few minutes and headed into her bedroom.

One look at how exasperated Ranger and Lester were caused Tank to start laughing once he sat down at the table. "Little girl giving you hell over this Ranger?" "Tank, you have no idea," Lester said. "I didn't even read my contract with the Army this closely. She's finding things that I didn't even know existed in the RangeMan contract."

Ranger sat and rubbed his hands over his face. "Do either of you have a copy of this contract? She's made so many revisions, that I can't keep track of what's the most current version." Bobby looked at the table and sighed. He reached into his bag and pulled out a pad of blank paper and handed it to Ranger. "At this point, it might be easier to just start over and write it out as you go. Then you have the attorney do it officially."

Steph came back and after they all had pizza and a couple beers each, they started at the beginning again. Steph was still hung up on the "secret" bank account and the amount that was stated that it held. Bobby had to tell her to forget about that for now, as it wasn't part of her Rangeman contract, it was just something extra Ranger had put in the folder.

They started at the beginning of the contract and line by line, they eventually got through it all, with revisions made by both Stephanie and Ranger. Ranger had put in some generalized statements about training expectations but Stephanie wanted it more exact. She wanted to know what she was getting into and if needed, she wanted to negotiate it down to what she thought her abilities were. What they kept trying to tell her was that as she got more into the training and she improved then should would have no problems with the expectations. Finally, Ranger threw in the towel and let her word it the way she wanted it.

It was close to 2:00 am when they finally got through it all. Lester finally opened the bottle of tequila and poured out shots for all of them. It didn't take many for Steph to end up with a glazed look and a silly grin on her face. She kept looking at Ranger and giggling. That would make Lester and Bobby start to giggle and finally Ranger had enough, He cut them all off and had Tank take the two giggling men back to RangeMan.

He sat down next to Steph and she stopped giggling. He looked at her, tipped her chin up to look at him, and softly kissed her. "Welcome to RangeMan Babe." He leaned forward to kiss her again and saw that she had fallen asleep. He picked her up and put her in bed. Turning off the bedroom lights, he went back into the living room and cleaned up their mess from earlier. He locked the door on his way out and headed back to the office.

~5~

Steph woke up in the morning with a groan. There was a constant pounding in her head and it felt like the little men in her head were trying to escape. She groaned again and pulled the pillow over her head. Before she could smother herself, the pillow was lifted off of her. She opened half an eye and saw a face with green eyes staring at her. She swatted at the face and tried to get the pillow back.

"Good morning sunshine! Time to wakey wakey. Big day ahead for you. Meeting with the RangeMan attorney in an hour. Go shower and I'll get you coffee." Lester reached down and pulled her out of bed and pushed her into the bathroom. He headed into the kitchen and started the coffee. Before it was done, Ranger walked into the apartment with a bag from McDonalds. They looked at each other and laughed. "She won't want the coffee until she has the fries and Coke." He headed towards the bathroom and heard the shower running. He knocked on the door and said, "Babe" while shaking the bag. The water shut off instantly and the door opened enough for her hand to stick out. He handed her the bag and then the drink and the door was shut again.

He walked back into the kitchen and sat down with Lester at the table. Lester poured him a cup of coffee and they waited. It didn't take long for Steph to come out, dressed, and still drinking the Coke. She came and sat down with them. She looked at Ranger and tried to raise an eyebrow at him. It didn't work too well and he laughed. "Babe, we have a meeting with the company attorney to finalize the contract and then we'll meet with the core team to go over a training schedule. Ella is cleaning the empty apartment so we can get you moved into the building either today or tomorrow. I already stopped by and told Vinnie you were done as of today. Any questions?"

She sat with her mouth hanging open. Lester chuckled and asked if she had any questions. She shook her head and took her empty cup to the kitchen. When she came back out, Ranger was holding her bag and Lester had already left. "I'll give you a ride to the office and then we can get started. I would like you to get moved in today if possible. That will give you a couple days to get settled before your business classes start on Monday. We've got you signed up for an accounting class and a class for the type of software that we use. Tank is going to get all of the books that are required and Hector is setting up a laptop for you to use in the classes. When we get to the building, we'll go meet Ella and show you the apartment. If you want anything changed, we can get it done this morning."

"Ranger, I'd like to pack my own things so please don't have the guys come over and pack for me. The thought of Lester pawing through my underwear drawer gives me the creeps. I would like to buy new furniture so can you take me shopping sometime today when I have free time?"

"Sure Babe. I know a couple places that can deliver today still. I'll get you the bank account information and cards for that account so you can use it for whatever you buy. I know you saw the amount you have in the account in the paperwork I gave you, but I'm sure it's changed. A chunk of the money is invested and the interest earned is deposited into the account on a weekly basis. I have a detailed listing of everything that has been done with the account since we opened it for you. All of the jobs you didn't take your full share of the fees are listed, as well as the amounts earned and also a list of the investments and how they are all doing. If you want to change anything, I can set up an appointment for you with our investment staff."

They pulled into the garage and headed to the fourth floor. The door to the apartment at the end of the hall was open and Ranger led her inside. It was pretty empty and Ella was cleaning the floors and counters. There was no furniture but the kitchen appliances were installed. Steph looked around, she would need to buy everything new. The furniture she used at her current apartment was passed down to her from family members and held no sentimental value to her. She had a lot to do today. Ranger asked if she was ready to head downstairs and they left Ella to finish her cleaning.

They walked into Ranger's office and the guys were already there, along with a man that Steph had never met before and Ranger introduced her to him. He got right to business and pulled out the contract that had the changes made that they had come up with last night. Steph read it over and then picked up the pen to sign it. The guys all signed as well, as they were all owners in the company. Once it was signed, the guys all cheered and gave Steph hugs and kisses. The attorney left her a copy and then left the office. Ranger pulled Steph out to the control room and yelled at the guys who were on the floor. With the core team standing behind them, Ranger announced that Steph had just signed her contract and would be moving into the building with the next few days and would officially start on Monday with classes in the morning and then training in the afternoons. The guys let out a cheer and they all came over to congratulate her. Hector smiled at her and with Ranger as his translator, said that he would teach her Spanish if she would help with his English. She smiled and agreed and dropped a kiss on his cheek. He actually blushed and walked away. "Babe, I think you broke Hector." Steph punched him in the arm and then said, "Okay, who wants to go shopping?"

~6~

Ranger and the rest of the core team decided to help Steph shop for the apartment. At the first store, Ranger handed Steph a credit card with her name on it. She looked at him and all he said was "secret account" and she laughed. She was grateful for their help with the electronics and furniture, but once they got to a home goods store, they were useless. She picked out dishes, pots and pans, towels, and Ranger helped her pick out the same kind of sheets that he had on his bed. He waggled his eyebrows at her when she picked them out. She laughed and pushed him away. The furniture and electronics were getting delivered that afternoon and Ranger said the guys would set it up for her if she would let him know where she wanted everything. They loaded all of her other purchases into Lester's car and he would take them back to RangeMan for her.

Ranger dropped her off at her apartment to get her things packed and had Hector come over with some empty boxes. She was sorting through her clothes when Hector knocked on the door. She opened it up and waved him into the apartment. He got to work boxing up what she showed him was ready in the kitchen and living room and then went back to her bedroom. She was lost in thought when suddenly felt that someone was watching her. She looked up and saw Hector standing in the doorway to her bedroom. She let out a yelp and he laughed. "You're too quiet and sneaky. Make some noise next time."

He looked at her quizzically and then she remembered he didn't speak English. She pulled out her phone and using a translator app, showed him what she said. He laughed and then typed something on the app for her. "You have too many sexy underthings. I know why Ranger smile much when he come back from you." She punched him in the arm and laughed. He took the boxes she had packed and set them in the living room with the others. He pulled out his phone and about ten minutes later, Hal showed up with a truck. Hal and Hector carried out the boxes that were packed and then came back inside. Hal asked if she was taking any of the furniture and she said no, she bought all new things and was planning to donate it. He said that he'd come back for the furniture she didn't want and he and Hector would drop it off in Hector's old neighborhood community center that helped people with anything they needed.

By the time Hal and Hector came back, Steph had put together a few boxes of clothes she didn't need any more and asked the guys to donate it as well as the furniture. Hal translated to Hector and he came over and hugged Steph. She looked at Hal and he explained about the area that Hector grew up in and the low incomes of those that lived there and any kind of help is appreciated. She wanted to talk to Ranger about trying to do more for the community as a company.

Steph went downstairs and got in the truck with the guys and headed back to the office building. She helped carry in the last of her boxes and Rex's cage and Ranger met them at her apartment. Her apartment was full of RangeMen. Her couch and loveseat were set up along with the dining room table and chairs. Her boxes of dishes were sitting on the kitchen counter and Ella was busy directing the set up the bedroom furniture. The bedframe was done and Ella was making the bed with the new sheets and comforter. The dresser was set up and it looked like a lot of her clothes was already hung up in the closet. It also looked like Ella had added to her wardrobe, but she wasn't going to complain!

Steph walked back to the living room and found Bobby and Lester arguing over where to set up her entertainment center along with the television and dvd player. She let them picker for a minute before she interrupted and pointed out where she wanted it. She shook her head when Lester stuck his tongue out at Bobby, as Steph picked Lester's choice. She walked into the kitchen and found Ranger unpacking her dishes. She started to help him put things away in the cupboards and drawers. They walked back to the living room and stood looking around. "Starting to look like a home Babe." "Yep, that secret bank account came in handy today. I would have had to work forever at Vinnie's to be able to buy all of this stuff. I basically brought my clothes, movies and Rex. Everything else is new." "Babe, sometimes it's good to start all new. I think this is going to be one of the best decisions you've ever made." "Thanks Ranger, I hope I don't screw it up." "Babe."

Ella left for a bit and came back with pizza and beer for all of them. The guys started trickling out as the evening progressed and eventually it was only Steph and Ranger left. They were both sitting on the couch having a beer. Steph was half asleep when Ranger pulled her onto his lap. "Babe, time for you to go to bed. You've been busy today and falling asleep." He helped her up and gave her a kiss on the forehead and then headed for the door. As he was walking out, he turned and said, "Babe, go take a shower and get some sleep. We'll talk in the morning about what comes next for you."

Steph walked into the bathroom and smiled when she saw a basket full of the shower gel that Ranger uses. "Sneaky man", she thought. She grabbed her phone and texted him. "Thank you." He came back with the usually response of "Babe." She smiled and headed for the shower. She was almost asleep when she got another text from Ranger. "Welcome to Rangeman Babe." She put her phone down and fell asleep with a smile on her face.


	3. Chapter 3

~7~

Steph woke up and was confused for a few minutes as to whose bed she was in, as well as whose apartment. She smiled when she remembered where she was and what she was going to do today. She got out of bed and walked out to the kitchen to start coffee. Once the coffee was started, she looked around at her apartment. It looked like a grown up's apartment, not like the one she just left. That looked like a college kid's apartment, complete with hand me down furniture from relatives. Even Rex looked happy in his cage. Hal had surprised her and bought Rex a deluxe hamster habitat and he was loving it.

She had just poured a cup of coffee when there was a knock at her door. She walked over and opened it. Bobby and Lester were standing on the other side, smiling like a couple of goofballs. She motioned for them to come in and Lester took the coffee from her and took a drink. She sighed and went back to get two more cups and met them at the kitchen table. Lester handed her a folder with information about her classes, which started on the following Monday. She had three days to get ready from them and to get all of the books, etc. that was needed. He also handed over a laptop that he told her could be used for classes and homework. It was a striped down version of a typical RangeMan laptop so she didn't have to worry about any of the "secrets" that were on the normal computers in the offices.

Bobby handed her a piece of paper that highlighted her upcoming training schedules. She sighed as she looked it over. They had something scheduled for practically every hour of the day. She wondered when she'd be allowed to go to the bathroom. Lester started laughing and looked at her as he wiped coffee off of his face. Bobby looked at her and smiled. "Out loud, huh?" "Yep Beautiful. We'll go over the schedule on your first day and see where we can fit those breaks in for you! Go get dressed and we'll take you school supply shopping!"

When Steph came out of her bedroom about ten minutes later, the living room now held Bobby, Lester, Tank and Ranger. "Is this going to be group shopping trip?" They laughed at her and then Ranger walked over to her. "Babe, I think our shopping trip yesterday was enough to last me a while. Take this credit card to pay for your class related expenses. It's for anything that's part of your job requirements. The card is for you to keep to pay for any RangeMan expenses, but not a trip to get donuts, please."

"Oh Ranger, you take all the fun away. I still have three days to enjoy donuts, you know."

"Babe", said Ranger as he walked out the door.

Steph looked at the three men who were left and sighed. She grabbed her back and they led her down to the garage and they all got into one of the SUV's. Lester pulled into the parking lot of an office supply store and they all went inside. Steph saw the woman working behind the counter was staring at the guys and had dropped the paper that she had been holding. She recognized her from high school and walked over to talk to her. "Hey Gina, how are you?" "Gee, Steph, apparently not as good as you are doing. Three of them all to yourself? Do you share?"

Steph laughed and launched into the story of who they were and that she was starting work at their office in a few days and they were in to get her supplies for her classes as well as for her office. Gina helped her look up the classes online to see what the professors were requiring and then led her to correct department. The entire time, Lester never took his eyes off of Gina. He might have been standing around a display of laptops looking at them with Bobby and Tank, but he was watching Gina. Steph noticed it and came up with a quick plan. She was standing with Gina looking at a group of accounting calculators and then called Lester over to them. Gina's eyes twinkled when Lester appeared. "Ladies, how may I assist?"

Steph looked at him and said, "Les, this is Gina, we went to high school together and I just found out that she works here. I don't know which calculator to buy. Do you have any suggestions?" Lester looked at the row of calculators and randomly picked one and handed to her. He was smiling at Gina and started to talk to her. Steph smiled, grabbed the calculator, put it back and got the correct one she needed and backed away from them. She wandered over to Bobby and Tank, still smiling.

Bobby laughed and said, "I saw what you did. Are you going to play matchmaker for all of us?"

Steph laughed and then pointed out that Lester had his phone out and had handed it to Gina and she was putting in her information. "Looks like it worked for Lester. Who's next?" The guys backed away from her and took off across the store. She stood laughing at them and then finished picking out the rest of her supplies. She headed to the counter to pay and actually had to break up the Gina and Lester huddle so she could check out. Gina came running over and was all smiles. Steph grinned and said, "Looks like someone will be shopping here more often. We could make him the office errand boy." "Steph!"

~8~

They all helped her carry the bags out to the SUV and then headed to the mall. Steph needed to get clothes and shoes for the gym as well as some other clothes that she could wear to classes and the guys told her to pick up some distraction job outfits as well as client meeting suits. One of Ranger's long term plans was to groom Steph in the client side of the business and let her eventually handle all of the client contact. That left him and the guys free to do the physical side of the jobs. Once she had gotten most of the essential clothes and shoes, she led the guys to that specific pink store, which was one of her favorite places to go. All of the guys came to a dead stop and refused to go inside with her. Lester shook his head and said, "Beautiful, are you trying to get the boss man to kill us?" She laughed and called Ranger.

"Babe"

"Ranger, the guys aren't being nice to me. They won't stay with me while we're shopping." When she said that, all three of the men looked sick.

"Babe, are you trying to get them in trouble?"

"Yep. They helped with all of the essential RangeMan clothes and shoes, but now they won't go with me to get new lingerie."

Ranger let out a roar of laughter. "Babe, you're mean. Try not to laugh and act like I'm mad. Those three will be shaking in their boots until you get back. Text me when you're almost back and I'll meet you in the garage."

"Ranger, you can't do that to them. They have been helpful until now so I don't think that much punishment is necessary. Just tell them to stay with me so I don't get kidnapped."

"Babe, you're mean. Use the other credit card I put in your wallet this morning. I want to buy you what you need if you are where I think you are shopping."

"Ok, if you say so. I'll see you when we get back to the building. I hope you're in a better mood by then. I don't like grouchy Ranger." She turned and walked into the store and had to hurry to the back of the store before she burst out loud laughing. She managed to get a glimpse of them out the store window and they were all huddled together looking at Tank's phone. Ranger must have texted him. She took her time and got what she needed and then a few more pieces. She took special care to buy something special in case Ranger finally made a move. The flirtation was always there and other than a few kisses, nothing else had happened. She hoped that with her living in the building, things would progress. Even when she was dating Joe, part of her heart belonged to Ranger.

She paid and went out to find the guys. Tank wouldn't look at her and the other two looked scared. They walked silently to the SUV and got inside. The ride back to RangeMan was quiet except for the tapping of Tank's fingers on the steering wheel. Steph remembered to send her text and when they pulled into the garage, Ranger was standing there, hands on hips waiting for them. Steph bounded out of the car and pulled her bags out and then went and stood by Ranger. The three men stood at attention and just stared straight ahead. Ranger walked over to them and Lester started to say something, but Ranger raised one hand to quiet him. They all stood silently for a minute before Ranger turned around to Steph and said, "Run Babe. I'll hold them off as long as I can." Steph didn't think twice, she took off at a dead run for the stairs and as soon as the door closed behind her, Ranger started laughing. The three men stared at him and then they finally started laughing. "She got you three in one swoop. God, it's going to be fun with her around full time." With that said, they all headed up to the control room.


	4. Chapter 4

~9~

The first week for Stephanie went fast. She was a bit overwhelmed with the classes, as they were accelerated and would only be 8 weeks long. She talked to Ranger after the first day of classes when she realized that she would need extra time to make sure she didn't fall behind on the homework and asked that her training not start until she had a better grasp on the classes. Ranger agreed to hold the guys off for the first week, but after that, she would have to figure out how to deal with everything.

Steph came back to the building each afternoon and holed herself up in her apartment working on her school work. After a few days, she started to understand how to deal with the classes. The guys were being good so far and not pestering her about the delay in the training but she knew that wouldn't last for too long. After the third day, she walked into her apartment and found Lester and Bobby sitting on her couch. They were watching television and had their feet resting on the coffee table. They smiled at her when she walked in and she walked over towards them and pushed their feet down.

"Beautiful, you're hiding from us. You can't hide in here forever." said Lester.

"Les, I'm not hiding. I cleared it with Ranger to not start training this week because the classes were a bit overwhelming at first. Now that I've had a couple days of them and figured out a routine for homework, I should be able to start next week with the guys in the afternoon."

"Baby, we know you talked to Ranger. We're just here to make sure you don't try to get out of the training part of your job all together. We know it's not your favorite part of the job, but it's something that can't be ignored." said Bobby.

"Guys, I'm not going to try to get out of my training. I know I need to do it and I will start next week. Honestly, I feel so out of place in my classes. I'm the oldest one there, the slowest one to understand things that are discussed and so far, have the lowest grades on the homework and quizzes. I'm overwhelmed and want to get this under control before adding more to my schedule."

"Beautiful, we know you'll do a great job. Just get the homework under control and we'll help with the training part and make sure you're not going to go nuts. Well, more nuts than you already are!"

"Not funny Les. I'm trying to keep it all together, but it's hard."

The guys ended up staying for about another hour and helped her get her homework started and gave her a brief overview of what her training would look like next week. After classes and then back to the building for a quick lunch, she would spend time on the gun range with Ram, learning how to hack a computer system with Hector, lock picking with Lester, first-aid with Bobby and gym time with Tank and Ranger. They would divide the gym time so at least one of them was available for any security issues that would come up. An hour with each of the guys and then back to her apartment for a quick meal and then homework. She was sure to fall asleep exhausted each night, but she hoped that as her training progressed, she would get quicker at some of it.

The next week came and by the end of the first day, Steph was asking herself what she had gotten herself into. She could barely walk and when she got into her apartment, she slumped down the wall next to the door and just sat. There was a knock at the door about ten minutes later and all she could do was grunt at it. The door opened and Ranger stepped inside. He looked at her, smiled and shook his head. "Babe, you okay?"

No response. He knelt down and tipped her head up to look at her. She stared at him but still didn't say anything. She didn't even grunt again. He picked her up and carried her into her bedroom. He sat her on the bed and took off her shoes and then stood her up and carried her into the bathroom. He started the shower and helped get her undressed and then quickly undressed himself. He carried her into the shower and once the hot water hit her, she groaned, leaning against the wall. He smiled at her and then helped her wash her hair and her body. They got out and he wrapped a towel around her and set her back on the bed. She flopped back and laid on her back while he put his pants back on and pulled a jar of ointment out of her bathroom cabinet.

Walking back into the bedroom, he saw her laying on the bed, sound asleep. Chuckling, he positioned her on her stomach and went to work rubbing the ointment on her back and legs. He had asked Ella to stock up on it for her to help with her sore muscles the first few weeks. It wasn't an easy training program for someone like Steph, who never exercised. Once he finished on her back and legs, he gently rolled her over and worked on the front of her arms and neck, as well as her ribs. He slipped his shirt on her and put her under the covers. Dropping a kiss on her forehead, he set her alarm for an hour later and turned out the lights. He headed out to her kitchen and put a meal together for her that could be reheated when she woke up. Leaving it for her, along with a note about eating and doing her homework, he left the apartment and headed towards the elevator. When it opened, Tank was on it and laughed when he saw Ranger without a shirt on. "Showered and sound asleep. Left her a meal to eat and a note to do her homework so hopefully she gets up when her alarm goes off in an hour."

Tank followed Ranger up to his apartment and they went inside. "Man, go put on a shirt before I can't control myself." Ranger smacked him in the head but headed to get a shirt and then returned. He grabbed them both a beer and they headed into the living room. "Did you expect her to do as well as she did today?" Tank asked.

"Honestly, I didn't know what to expect. I knew she didn't like to exercise, but she wasn't half bad in the gym. We worked on some basic exercises with the weights and treadmill, but I was mainly impressed with her determination. She had some trouble going the speed I was after on the treadmill, but she did the distance I wanted her to go. Bobby said her first-aid lesson was good. I think with all of the times she's been injured, she's not queasy about any of it. I haven't talked to Ram, Lester or Hector, but none of them came running with problems, so I assume it went well."

"Still going to add some defensive training tomorrow after the weights and running. We'll see how she does with my training, but please remind her that kicking me in the nuts isn't allowed here."

Ranger laughed and said he'd try, but maybe he should remind the guys to wear a cup when working with her in the gym. It was her last resort sometimes when caught in a situation. Ranger's phone dinged with a new text and he smiled when it was from Steph. "Thanks" was all it said. He responded with his usual "Babe" and got back a smiley face from her. Tank watched him and laughed. "Man, you've got it bad for her. Why don't you man up and tell her before one of those bozo's downstairs gets to her first?"

"When her classes and training are done, and she fulfills the contract expectations, and I move her into the client side of the company, then I'll figure it out." Tank shook his head and said, "You're going to wait too long and then blow any chance with her. You know there are about 10 guys downstairs that are just waiting for you to screw up so they can go after her." Tank left after saying that and Ranger sat down and thought about what Tank had said. He knew the guys enjoyed having her in the building and part of the company but he didn't think they wanted to go out with her. Although, who wouldn't want to go to out with her? She was the perfect woman for him. She was in her 2nd week of the 8 week classes and training schedule and he'd talk to her when she was close to being done.

~10~

The next five weeks flew by for Steph. She finally got the hang of her classes and was doing very well in them, earning some of the highest grades in the class. Her afternoons at RangeMan were not kicking her butt anymore. Granted, she wasn't Superwoman material yet, but she wasn't the failure she started as weeks before. She had one week left of classes and then final exams. She headed to Ranger's office and knocked on his door. "Enter."

"Hey Ranger. Got a minute?" "Always for you Babe. What's up?"

"As you know, I'm heading into my last week of the classes and I have final exams coming up. I was hoping that I could reschedule some of the training sessions so I could have a bit more study time."

"Babe, that's fine. Work it out with the guys and just be sure to get the time put in. You've done a great job with everything and once you're all done with classes and the guys sign off on the training part of your contract, I'd like to take you out for a night on the town. Dinner, dancing, whatever you want. Sound okay?"

"Sure, just let me get through everything first, okay?"

"Okay Babe. I need to go to a meeting now so we'll talk later." He dropped a kiss on the top of her head and left his office. Steph headed back to her apartment and sent an email to the guys to ask about revising the training schedule. That done, she pulled out her books and got to studying.

The day of her final exams was finally here. She woke up and found a bag of donuts and a cup of coffee waiting on her kitchen counter. That put a smile on her face, someone knew how a day should start. She walked into the bathroom and found a note from Ranger on the mirror. He told her to kick butt on the finals and he would see her back in the building later that afternoon. She got ready and then headed down to her car. She found a note from the guys in her front seat, pretty much telling her the same as Ranger's note.

Eight long hours later, she returned to the building. The control room must have sent out an alert that she was on her way back because when she pulled into the garage, it was full of men in black. It was quite a sight to see, all the muscles rippling through their skin tight shirts. She had to shake her head to clear her thoughts and parked her car. She got out and was greeted by the group. They all started talking at once, firing off questions about her tests.

Ranger let out a loud whistle to get them to stop talking. "Babe, how'd it go?"

"First, thank you for this welcome home. It's been a long time since I had to take finals, but I feel like I did okay. Most of the questions made sense, but there were a few tricky ones. The instructor said grades would be emailed sometime tomorrow. It was good that there weren't many people in my classes so grades can be done quickly. Now, if you'll excuse me, I hear my pillow calling." She headed to the elevator and went to her apartment.

Tank looked at Ranger. "How long before you call the instructor and find out?" Ranger looked at him and shook his head. "I don't want to spoil it for her. This is important for her so I'll behave." Tank looked at him and laughed. "Sure you will."

Once in her apartment, Steph headed to the bedroom and flopped on her bed. She kicked off her shoes, put her phone in the charger next to the bed and promptly fell asleep. When she woke up hours later, she found Ranger sleeping next to her. She slipped out of bed, headed to the living room and found Tank, Bobby and Lester asleep on her couch. She went back to her room to grab her phone and went back and took a picture of the guys. They had fallen asleep on each other and were currently all snuggling together. Now she finally had some blackmail against the three of them.

She went into the kitchen and pulled out a bottle of water. She went and checked her email, but there was nothing yet about grades. She felt the tingle and turned around to see Ranger standing in the doorway looking at the guys. He had a smile on his face and was shaking his head. He pulled out his phone and took a few photos. He saw Steph and crooked an eyebrow at her. She pulled out her phone and shook her head yes. He walked over to her and pulled her in for a hug. They stood like that for a few minutes and then heard the ping of an incoming email. "Whatever it is Babe, I know you worked hard and I couldn't be more proud of you." She nodded her head and headed to the computer. She opened the email and with one last glance at Ranger, she read.

~11~

Steph let out a squeal so loud that the three guys on the couch came running into the kitchen with their guns drawn. Steph looked at them and laughed. "I passed. I passed. I passed." She was pulled into each of the guys arms for a hug and kiss on the cheek. When she finally got to Ranger, he gave her a kiss on the lips and said, "Proud of you Babe."

"I'm proud of me too. I worked hard on these classes. It wasn't easy after having been away from school for so long, but I did it."

Ranger looked at the email and said, "Babe, you just didn't pass, you got the highest grade on the finals and ended up with the highest grade in the class."

"I know, I just didn't want to brag." Ranger laughed and pulled her in for another kiss. "Ok Babe, now that classes are done, you can finish up with the training and if that goes well, you'll have fulfilled the contract requirements and then will become the first RangeWoman. Then, we'll celebrate."

Steph started yawning so Ranger and the guys headed out. She smiled to herself and then headed back to bed. Classes were done and over, but now she had to pass all the areas of her training. That would start in the morning. The only one was she was worried about was the defense lesson. It was going to Ranger or Tank she would have to defend herself against and they were both so big and strong.

The next few days went by quickly. She had passed her training in first aid, lockpicking, computer hacking, which she decided was really fun, and was now headed to the gun range for that testing. Ram had set up an obstacle course for her with targets to hit and by the time she was done, she had hit every one of the paper men in the chest between the eyes and the few that Ram had taped a picture of her ex-husband on the face, had gotten an additional shot to the crotch. "Thought you'd appreciate those last few" Ram said. Steph laughed and held out her hand for her certificate of passing. Ram also handed her one of the crotch shot paper men and told her to frame it. Now the only thing left was waiting for her in the gym.

She stopped at her apartment and changed into her gym clothes and with a big sigh, headed downstairs. She walked into the gym and found a room full of black. Everyone that was not working was there to watch. "Great," she thought to herself, "a room full of men to watch."

Ranger came over and pulled her in for a hug. "Saw what you did to the target men upstairs Babe." She laughed and told him that Ram let keep one. "You ready for this? We'll start with a warm ups and then hit the treadmill." "Oh boy, I can't wait." Ranger laughed and pulled her over to the mats and led her through a series of warm up exercises. Once he was satisfied, they headed to the treadmill. He programed her route and she took off. By the end of the ten mile run, she wasn't as tired as she thought she would be. She had no idea that she could run that far and when she got off and looked over at the guys, she got a room full of thumbs-up from them. Ranger smiled and walked over to her. "That was the distance that all of the guys run on a daily basis. I wasn't prepared for you to actually complete it. I was going to let you stop after 5 miles, but I'm proud that you finished the whole distance. Take a few minutes to recover and then we'll finish up with the last item on the training checklist."

She grabbed a bottle of water and took a few minutes to rest. Once she was ready, Ranger took her over to the mats and she found that she was facing Hector. He gave her a smile and then they were off. He came at her multiple times and she was able to fend off everything he threw at her. She even took him down a few times on her own and that got a roar of approval from the guys. Ranger called a halt to it and then looked at Steph. "One last test Babe." She looked at him and said, "Bring it." The guys laughed and so did she until she saw that Ranger had taken off his shirt and was coming at her. She quickly reacted and was able to fend him off. He wasn't going easy on her and was going full force. She was able to break out of his last hold and was momentarily distracted when Lester and Bobby smiled at her and blew her kisses. Ranger was able to take advantage of her and within seconds, she was flat on her back on the mat and Ranger was on top, holding her down with his body. He had her arms pinned to the mats and was looking down at her.

"Well, hell," she said. "So close. Can I try again tomorrow? I know that I will do better. Just don't let those bozos blow kisses at me."

"Babe, no more tries." Steph looked at him and had tears in her eyes. "I'm sorry Ranger. I tried so hard and I thought I was going to pass everything."

Ranger leaned over closer and whispered, "You did pass Babe. Once you got Hector down, you passed." "What? What's this all about?" "Babe, I'll take any opportunity to get you under me." He gave her one of his blinding smiles and leaned down to kiss her. She took advantage and rolled him over and pinned him to the mat. The guys let out a roar and she smiled at him. "Babe."

She stood up and held out a hand to Ranger. He grabbed her and pulled her back down on top of him. He looked over at the guys and said, "Dismissed. Pino's in two hours, I'm buying." Another roar from the crowd and they were gone. It left Ranger and Steph alone in the gym. "Babe, we're going to Pino's tonight to celebrate with the guys, but then tomorrow night I'd like to celebrate with you alone. Is that okay with you?" She leaned down and kissed him. "Yep, that sounds like a plan. I'm going to go shower and change."

~12~

Two hours later, Ranger was knocking on Steph's apartment door. She opened it up and he gave her a look. "Babe, are you sure you don't want to just stay home with me tonight?" "Nope, the guys earned tonight as much as I did, besides, you're paying." She gave him a brief kiss and headed out the door. He sighed and followed her. They got the garage and he told her to pick a car. She got into the Turbo and they were off.

Pino's was overrun with men in black by the time they got there. A few of them had brought their wives or girlfriends. She grabbed Ranger's hand and drug him to the back where she sat down at a table with Tank, Lula, Lester and Bobby. The waitress brought over a pitcher of beer and glasses. Ranger pulled her aside and spoke quietly to her. The poor girl stood there with her mouth hanging open and could only nod her head in agreement to whatever Ranger has said to her. He sat down and Steph laughed. "Ranger, you shouldn't smile so much at the poor girl. She doesn't know how to handle your brightness." "Babe."

A couple hours later, the pizzas were gone but the beer was still flowing. Lester stood up on a chair and whistled to get everyone's attention. "Today is the start of a new era at RangeMan – our first RangeWoman. Steph, stand up please. Bobby and I got you something so you can always remember the wonderful time you had with your training. Bobby, if you would please." Bobby came up to Steph putting a crown on her head and then he draped a sash across her that said, "Queen of Everything". She laughed and Ranger smirked.

"We are excited that you are finally properly trained and hopefully won't hurt anymore of us when we have to be your partner." Steph glared at him but the guys all laughed. "Ranger, don't you have something to say?"

Ranger stood up and pulled Lester off the chair. Les wobbled a bit but Bobby caught him and put a glass of beer in his hand. "Babe, welcome to RangeMan as an official member. We can talk more later on about what comes next, but know that I have plans for your future." There was some heckling from the guys, but he ignored it. "I would like you to eventually head up the client side of the business. You have a way with people that we don't and they trust you and your opinion. We'll start slow, but that is the ultimate goal."

He reached down and grabbed her hand, pulling up into his arms. Leaning in so only she could hear him and said, "We can discuss a lot of different plans later alone if that's okay with you." She smiled and nodded. "Now, say something to guys so they leave and I can stop buying their beer." She laughed and started talking. "Guys, thank you for this party tonight. I wouldn't be here tonight celebrating if it hadn't been for all of you. You truly are my family and I love you all. I can't wait to start work and I'll be the best RangeWoman there ever was!" They all cheered and the party continued.

Ranger grabbed her hand and pulled her over to a table near the bar. "Just wait here Babe." He walked over to the waitress from earlier and together they walked into the back. A minute later they came out carrying a large cake. It was covered in frosting flowers and said, "Welcome RangeWoman" and had a picture of Wonder Woman with a black RangeMan logo on her costume. Steph squealed with excited and grabbed the knife to cut a piece of it. "Wait Babe, I want a picture." Once the picture was over, she snagged a piece of it before yelling at the guys to come get cake, with real sugar, before Ranger too it away.


	5. Chapter 5

~13~

Steph struggled to open her eyes when she heard her alarm going off. She reached over towards the alarm and ran into a person instead of the clock. The unknown person reached up and turned off the alarm. She grunted her thanks and fell back asleep. She had made no effort to find out who was in her bed. Ranger looked over at her and chuckled. He had a hard time getting her to leave Pino's last night and had to bribe her with another piece of cake to get her into the car. By the time they pulled into the garage, she was sound asleep, still holding on the piece of cake. He had to carry her upstairs to her apartment. He had gotten her into bed and then put the piece of cake in the kitchen.

He got up and headed out. He ran upstairs to his apartment to change clothes and then headed out. He returned about an hour later, loaded down with "The Cure". He dropped off a lot of it in the break room for the guys who made it into work and then headed up to the floor with staff apartments. Pounding on each door, he left a bag outside their door. He headed back into Steph's apartment and took her bag into the bedroom. She was still sleeping in the same position as when he had left.

He walked over to her side of the bed and shook the bag a few times. She mumbled a bit but still didn't wake up. He reached into the bag and pulled out the fries. He waved a few of them under her nose and her mouth opened up, although she still didn't open her eyes. He laughed and shoved a few fries in her mouth. She chewed and swallowed and then opened her mouth again. He repeated this a few times before she opened her eyes. "Babe, you want a drink? I got you a soda." She grunted and he handed her the cup. A few drinks and some more fries later, she was finally able to look at him and focus. "Babe, you drank way too much last night. Do you remember the shot contest with some of the guys?" She stared at him blankly and he laughed. He pulled out his phone and showed her the pictures. She groaned and closed her eyes again.

"Come on Babe. Let's get a shower and then you'll start to feel better. I was nice enough and brought all of the guys "The Cure" as well so hopefully they will get moving soon." He pulled her into the bathroom and stripped her clothes off and then started the shower. He pushed her into the shower and then followed. She stepped back into her bedroom an hour later, not ever remembering a shower taking so long or being so fun. She got dressed and headed out to the kitchen. Ranger soon followed and he made breakfast while she made coffee. She saw the piece of cake sitting on the counter and grabbed it and headed to the table. Ranger brought her a plate of food and took the piece of cake away. She glared at him but picked up her fork and started eating.

Ranger finished eating and then pulled out a folder and smiled at her. "Oh no you don't. Last time you gave me a folder, I had to exercise." He laughed and opened it up. He pulled out a RangeMan ID with her picture on it. "Babe, here is your official ID. Please make sure you have it with you when you go out on client calls. Also, here are your insurance cards and information about the benefits and retirement package we have here. You already have a company credit card to use for anything related to work expenses. And finally, here is your official RangeMan business card."

She picked up the card and looked at it. She glanced up at him and tried to crook one eyebrow, but failed. He chuckled and said, "Questions?" "Ranger, it says that I am the Head of Client Relations." "Yep, that's what you are going to be soon, so we just went ahead and had the cards made now so we don't have redo them in a few months. I'll give you the rest of the weekend to get situated with your new role here and then we'll start on Monday morning. I think you'll probably need about three months before you're in the role full time. For now, we'll go slowly and you can work some shifts in the control room too."

~14~

"How did you have time to get all of this together? How did you get the business cards printed so quickly?" she asked.

"Babe, once I saw that you were sticking with everything we threw at you, I knew you'd work until you finished and passed everything. I've had this folder put together for about three weeks," Ranger said.

She sat and shook her head at him. He smiled at her and then took their plates to the kitchen. He came out and she was still sitting there looking at the business cards. He reached over and pulled her up and into his arms. "Babe, don't overthink it. You'll be great in this job and we both know it. People are your forte, so much more than the rest of us. Come on, I don't want to take you out just for dinner tonight, I want to spend the entire day with you. Go get dressed for a trip to the beach and be sure to bring a change of clothes for dinner and dancing. I'll be back in half an hour to get you." He dropped a kiss on her cheek and left the apartment.

Exactly 30 minutes later, Ranger knocked on her door and then opened it. "Babe? Are you ready?" He walked towards her bedroom and saw her standing in front of her closet wearing only a very skimpy bikini. "Babe, you're killing me looking like that." She laughed and said, "I can't decide what to bring for dinner and dancing. Any suggestions?" He walked over to her and had to put his hands behind his back to restrain himself from grabbing her and locking them in the bedroom for the rest of the day. "If you don't go cover up that bikini, I'll have to call all the ambulances in Trenton because all of my men will be having heart attacks. I'll pick out something for you." She laughed and then headed into the bathroom. He looked through her closet and pulled out a dress and pair of heels. He opened her drawers and found the appropriate underwear and then put them in a bag.

She walked out of the bathroom covered up, thank god, and then grabbed the bag Ranger had packed for her. They walked out into the living room and he grabbed his bag and when he opened the door, Ella was just coming out of the elevator with a picnic basket. She smiled at them, handed Ranger the basket, winked at Stephanie when Ranger wasn't looking and then got back into the elevator. They headed to the garage and he led her to a Porsche that had its top down. She had never seen the car before and looked at him. "I keep it in storage and only get it out for special occasions." She laughed and said, "This is a special occasion?" "You bet your ass it is Babe." She laughed again and he helped her into the car, putting their bags and the basket in the trunk.

The drive to the beach took a little over an hour and they talked a bit about the guys, but every time Steph tried to bring up her new role at RangeMan, Ranger would change the subject. Finally, he could tell she was frustrated and he said, "Babe, no talk about work today, please. This day is just about us." She agreed and asked about Julie. "She's good. Last time I talked to her she was talking about a boy in her class that she thought was cute. How am I supposed to deal with knowing she's going to be dating soon? I told Ron I would run checks on any of them if he could get me their information." She looked over at him and smacked him on the arm. "Carlos, you will not run background checks on Julie's boyfriends. That's horrible." He looked over at her and seemed shocked. "How else will I know if he's good enough for her?" "You let her figure it out. That's part of being a teenager. First loves and first heartbreaks. I bet you didn't run this by Rachel, did you?" He shook his head and she smacked him again, while muttering under her breathe about calling Rachel.

Ranger was quiet the rest of the drive and pulled into a parking lot at one of the more extravagant hotels in the area. Steph looked at him and he smiled. "Come on Babe." He grabbed their bags and the basket and handed the keys over to the valet. She grabbed her bag from him and he reached out and grabbed her other hand. He smiled at her again and pulled her into the hotel. He walked over to the front desk and said they had a reservation under Manoso. Steph looked at him with a puzzled look on her face. He pulled her closer to him and kissed her. "Trust me Babe." He took their key card, handed over the basket to the desk clerk and pulled her to the elevator. The elevator went to the top floor and the door opened. Ranger pulled her out and walked to the end of the hall and used the key card to open a door. He pulled her inside, grabbed her bag and put both of their bags on the bed. He pulled her over to the window and she gasped when she looked out. They were able to look over the pool area which butted up to the beach. There was a small fence to separate the two, but the hotel had cabanas set up on the beach. Ranger pointed to one and said, "That one is ours. Let me go change and we'll head out. Look around if you want." He headed into the bathroom but Steph stayed standing, looking out the window.

Ranger came out a few minutes later and she looked him over. "Yummy", she thought. Ranger laughed and she blushed. "You never disappoint Babe. Let's go." He grabbed her hand and pulled her back into the elevator. They headed out towards the pool and he guided her past the pool and towards their cabana on the beach. The cabana had two chaise lounge chairs, a table with two chairs, a tv and stereo system and a small kitchen area. "Good God Ranger, this is bigger than my old apartment." He laughed and pulled out the bottle of sun screen. He helped her put some on and she returned the favor. He grabbed her hand and led her out into the sun, where two beach chairs and towels were set up. She dropped into one and looked over at him. "Thank you for doing this for me." "Anything for you Babe." She closed her eyes and was soon asleep. Ranger looked at her and smiled. He wanted her in his life permanently, but he didn't want to rush her. It was going to be hell to go slow.


	6. Chapter 6

~15~

Ranger rolled Steph over about thirty minutes after she fell asleep and she didn't wake up. He knew between her classes and all of the training, she hadn't slept much each night. Then, add the night out with the guys, she must have been exhausted. He was glad he had reserved the hotel room for the night. She deserved a night of fun and relaxation.

He woke her up in another thirty minutes and pulled her into the ocean. They spent about an hour playing around in the water and just enjoying themselves. Ranger was going through his own personal hell when he saw her walk out of the water in that skimpy, water drenched bikini. Good God, going slow was going to kill him. But, he knew that's what she wanted and needed. She'd rushed into her marriage with the Dick and the unhealthy relationship with Morelli and had never truly dated someone who would worship her and treat her the way she deserved to be treated. She deserved more than pizza and beer on the couch, watching the game on television.

They went back to the cabana and saw that the picnic basket had been delivered. Ranger opened it up and pulled out all sorts of snacks Ella had packed, along with a bottle of wine and two wine glasses. They lingered in the cabana, eating and drinking the wine. They talked about their childhoods and families. Ranger knew a bit about Steph's family, but she had no idea about his family, other than Julie. He also talked about his short marriage to Rachel. They avoided talk about work, but she was surprised to find out that Lester was a cousin, as was Silvio from the Miami office.

They headed back to the room and he sent her into the bathroom to shower and get changed for their night out. Once she came out wearing the hotel's bathrobe, he headed in for a quick shower. When he came out, she was dressed and then headed back into the bathroom to finish her hair and makeup. He got dressed and was finishing up when she walked out and posed for him. "Well, like what you see?" "Babe, you're beautiful." He walked over and grabbed her hand and brought it up to his lips for a gentle kiss. "Absolutely beautiful."

Ranger walked her to the elevator, still holding her hand. He gave it a small squeeze and she smiled at him. They went to one of the restaurants in the hotel and had a private dining room. There was a single red rose across her plate and it made her smile. There were no menus on the table and Steph asked about it. Ranger said he'd pre-ordered their dinners and if she didn't like what he ordered, she would be able to order something else.

By the time the first course was over, Stephanie wasn't questioning anything with the meal. The wine that was paired with each course was wonderful. By the time dessert arrived, she was more than a little buzzed and couldn't stop smiling. Ranger chuckled at her expression when the dessert was presented. They each had a large piece of chocolate cake with chocolate frosting and chocolate curls. Steph almost fell off her chair when she saw Ranger eating his piece of cake. "Ranger, is the temple being polluted tonight?" "Babe, even I eat dessert every so often. I just don't make a habit of doing so." They finished their cake, drank the rest of the wine and then Ranger stood up and held his hand out to Steph. "Ready?" She nodded and reached out to him.

Hand in hand they walked out of the restaurant and across the hotel to the front door. Ranger handed his claim slip to the valet and soon his car was brought to the door. He helped Steph inside and walked around to the driver's door. He looked at her and smiled before driving off. They drove in silence about twenty minutes before he pulled up to a club. He got out and helped Steph out of the car and handed his keys to the valet. They walked past the line of people waiting outside the club and walked to the door. Ranger did a complicated handshake with the bouncer at the door, introduced Steph and then pulled her inside. Inside the beat of the music was pulsing throughout the club. He led her to a table and then ordered a bottle of wine. Steph laughed and asked "Are you trying to get me drunk?" Ranger just laughed and she realized he never answered her question.

Instead of waiting for the wine to arrive, he grabbed her hand and led her to the dance floor. The music had a Latin sound and a fast beat. Even though the beat was fast, Ranger pulled her into his arms and moved her slowly around the floor. He pulled in as close as she could be and grabbed her waist with his hands. She put her arms around his neck and they danced. About two songs in, he spun her around and pulled her back in so her back was against his chest. With his hands on her hips, he moved them to the beat. Steph leaned her head back to rest on his shoulder and he leaned down to softly kiss her neck. She let out a sigh and when the song ended, they walked back to the table to find the bottle of wine waiting for them. They sat and drank a bit and then headed back to the dance floor. Steph never wanted the night to end. This was the best time she'd had in a very long time on a date.

They stayed at the club for a few hours before Steph started yawning. Ranger helped her to the door and held her in his arms while they waited for the car to be brought around. Once inside the car, they headed back to the hotel and they pulled up and he walked around to help her out. They held hands the entire way to the room and once they got inside the room, Ranger locked the door and took off his suit jacket. Steph kicked her shoes off and headed towards the bedroom. Ranger followed her and headed into the bathroom to change. He came out in a pair of shorts and t-shirt. Steph unconsciously licked her lips when he walked out and he laughed. He pushed her into the bathroom and waited until she came out. When she came out in a sleep shirt and shorts, he ushered her into bed. He tucked her in, gave her a soft kiss on the lips and stroked her cheek. "I had a great time tonight Babe. Get some sleep and I'll let you know when it's time to get up in the morning." She looked at him as he walked out of the room. "Ranger, where are you going?" "Babe, I'm going to sleep in the other bedroom. We're going to take this nice and slow. Good night." And then he walked out and shut her bedroom door. She heard another door open and close and then she let out a groan. She did not want to go nice and slow. In fact, she was hoping for fast and furious once they got in bed, but apparently someone had other plans. Good God, why was he such a perfect man?

~16~

Steph woke the next morning feeling extremely frustrated. She went to the bathroom, tried to tame her hair and then headed out to the other room where she could smell coffee. She walked in and found Ranger in just his shorts, looking sweaty and hold a cup of coffee out to her. "I just got back from the gym and found breakfast had been delivered. Have a seat and I'll be out in a few minutes, I want to take a quick shower." Steph sat down and drank her coffee, deciding to wait to eat until Ranger came back. Within five minutes he was back and sat down at the table with her. They ate in silence and then Steph got up and went into change her clothes. She found that Ranger had packed an extra change of clothes for her besides the dress she wore last night. She brought her bag back to the living room and waited for Ranger to come back from the other bedroom.

"Ready to go Babe?" Steph nodded and they headed down to the lobby where he handed over the claim ticket to the valet. The car came around and Steph got in without waiting for Ranger to help her. He looked at her quizzically when he got in the car. "Babe, did I do something to upset you?" "No Ranger, why would you say that? I've had a great time here with you." He didn't reply but he knew that something changed in her from the time he put her to bed until now. The ride back to RangeMan was in silence, with just the radio playing softly in the car. He pulled into the garage and got Steph's door open before she could do it. He handed her bag to her and then walked her over to the elevator. He tried to hold her hand, but she pulled it back and dug through her bag, like she was looking for something. She continued this until the elevator stopped on her floor. She practically ran out, yelled a thank you over her shoulder to Ranger and got into her apartment and shut the door before he could even move out of the elevator. He stood there for a minute just staring her closed apartment door before he headed up to his apartment.

Steph locked her apartment door and dropped her bag on the floor by her bed. She flopped down on the bed her in thinking position and went over the past day and night in her head. What had she done to turn Ranger off to her once they got back to the hotel room? She thought the night had gone perfectly. From the rose on her plate at dinner, to seeing Ranger eat chocolate cake, to the massive amounts of wine that she drank, to the dancing. God, she loved to dance with him. He was so sexy and muscular and she felt like she fit perfectly in his arms. She eventually drifted off to sleep.

Upstairs in Ranger's apartment, it was the same scene. He was sitting on his couch, staring at the television, replaying the night over in his head. What did he do to turn her like she was acting? She practically ran into her apartment to get away from him when they got back. He was still sitting there an hour later when Tank and Lester showed up. They let themselves into his apartment and stood looking at him. Lester quirked an eyebrow at him and said, "What's up boss?" Tank asked, "Didn't Bomber have fun with you?"

He looked at them and motioned them into the living room to sit down. "I don't know what happened. We had a great time. She was amazed at the hotel and the beach. We spent time at the beach, swam in the ocean, had an incredible meal and then went to a club and spent a few hours dancing. Once we got back to the hotel, I put her to bed and headed to sleep in the other bedroom. Once she got up this morning, she was a totally different person. She barely spoke to me and when we got back here, she ran out of the elevator and locked herself in her apartment before I could even step out of the elevator."

Lester laughed and said, "You slept in another bedroom and not with Bomber?" Tank looked at Ranger for an answer. "Of course I did. It was our first real date and I'm still technically her boss until she starts working for Tank tomorrow morning. I didn't want to do anything that would make her feel uncomfortable, but somehow I screwed it up."

"Did you tell her why you didn't sleep with her?" Tank asked.

"Well, no. Do you think I should have told her?"

"Ranger, you maybe the dumbest person I know," said Lester. "Of course you should have told her. She went with you, not knowing you were spending the night at a hotel with her and when she found out, she was probably excited. I know how she thinks and now she probably thinks you don't want her. I better go talk to her."

"Carlos, you are an idiot," said Tank. He shook his head and walked out the door behind Lester.

Ranger sat and stared at them. Did he really screw it up with Steph on their first date?


	7. Chapter 7

~17~

Lester knocked on Steph's apartment door and when she didn't answer, he tried the knob and it was unlocked. He walked in and didn't find her in the living room or kitchen. He headed down the hallway and found her laying on her back on her bed, still dressed, but just lying there. He walked over, kicked off his shoes and flopped down next to her. She looked over at him and sighed. She had fallen asleep after she got back but she didn't sleep for long. Lester reached over and wiped the tears away that she didn't even realize were falling down her face.

"Hey Beautiful. You okay?"

"I don't know Lester. What is so wrong with me that I can't keep the interest of a man for more than a few hours?"

"Hey, nothing's wrong with you. In this situation, Ranger is the problem. Ranger doesn't do well communicating his feelings. He's totally in love with you."

"Sure, Les. If he's so in love with me, why did he sleep in another bedroom? The day at the beach was perfect and the dinner and dancing were something out of a romance novel. He truly wined and dined me last night. No one has ever taken me out on a date that was so full of fun and love. I thought things were perfect until he tucked me in bed and left the room. He tucked me in bed, Lester. Like I was two years old. What the hell is wrong with me?"

Lester reached over and turned to her face him. "Listen to me, there is nothing wrong with you. Ranger is in love with you but he does more harm than good with sharing his emotions. He wants to take things slow with you. Formally court you for lack of a better phrase. Right now, all he can think about is the fact that until tomorrow, when you officially start working for Tank, that he's still your boss. He didn't want you to think about the fact that you would have been sleeping with your boss and make you feel uncomfortable. It truly was a good thing he was trying to do, he just fucked it up."

Steph looked at him and said, "That's what he was worried about? That I'd think I was sleeping with my boss? What a dumbass." Lester started laughing and then Steph joined in and soon they were both laughing hysterically and rolling around the bed. It continued for a few minutes before they heard someone clear their throat. They both looked up and saw Ranger standing in the doorway. Seeing him standing there caused Lester to start laughing louder and Steph couldn't stop so the point of having tears run down her face. She looked at him and said, "You slept in the other room because you're my boss for all of another twelve hours. You dumbass." With that said, she started laughing again. That started Lester laughing again and he choked out, "You called him a dumbass." Ranger stood looking at them and shook his head before turning and walking out of the doorway.

Steph jumped up and ran after him. She caught up with him before he could leave the apartment and grabbed his arm. "Hey, don't leave." And then she pulled him down to her and kissed him, long and hard. "Babe." He pulled her into him and kissed her again. "I didn't want to make you feel weird, but I guess I screwed it up. Once you get to work in the morning, you report to Tank instead of me. After work is over tomorrow, you belong to me." He gave her one last kiss and then left the apartment.

~18~

The next day, Steph skipped to Ranger's office at the end of her shift. "Knock-Knock," she said while knocking on the door. Ranger looked up from where he was sitting at his desk and smiled at her. "Babe."

"My day is over." "I can see that. Come here." He pulled her onto his lap and kissed her. "How about dinner in my apartment?" "Sure Ranger, let me go shower and change and then I'll come up. About an hour?" Ranger nodded and then she left, heading upstairs.

Almost one hour later, Steph was knocking on Ranger's apartment door. He opened it and she felt week in the knees. He was wearing faded jeans with a button down white shirt that was unbuttoned at the top. He had put his earrings in and his hair was still damp from a shower. The smell of his shower gel was overwhelming and Steph had to shake her head to get back to the present. Ranger chuckled and pulled her into the apartment.

"Ella just dropped off dinner, so let's go eat." He led her into the kitchen and helped her fill a plate. They sat in the kitchen and ate, talking over the day's work. Once they put their dishes in the dishwasher, Ranger led Stephanie into the living room and pulled her down on the couch, next to him.

"Babe, I want to apologize again for how our weekend ended. I should have told you why I was doing what I did, but sometimes, you make me feel like a 14 year old boy again."

"Ranger, you are far from a 14 year old boy. You are a wonderful man. Yes, you should have told me, but we all make mistakes. Yes, even you Mr. Perfect. You make mistakes." She leaned over and kissed him gently on the lips. "I agree with your original thoughts though." He looked at her and raised an eyebrow. "I want to go slow with you as well. I think if we would have slept with each other this past weekend, it wouldn't mean as much as if we wait and go slow. When we finally do sleep together, it will mean more to both of us. Ranger, I love you and think that you are my forever guy, but with all of the screw-ups I've had in my dating past, I don't want to screw up with you."

"Babe, I love you too. I will agree to anything you want because I don't want to lose you." He leaned over and kissed her and pulled her onto his lap. The spent the next few minutes kissing each other and just enjoying each other. Ranger eventually pulled away and turned on the television. They spent the next few hours watching a movie and kissing each other. When the movie was over, Ranger pulled Steph to her feet and walked her down to her apartment. They stopped at her door and kissed again for a few minutes. "Babe, we're giving the guys on monitor duty a free show." He pulled back and kissed her on the forehead. "Good night Babe." He gave her one final kiss. "Night Ranger", Steph said. She walked into her apartment and about screamed when she heard, "Nice date Beautiful?"


	8. Chapter 8

~19~

"Jesus Les, what the hell are you doing and why are you here? I thought once I moved into a secure building, people would stop breaking into my apartment."

"I just wanted to see how your date went and knew that I couldn't go to sleep until I talked to you about it." He was sitting on her couch, looking her over. "You seem to have all of your clothes on and in the correct location. Nothing seems to be turned inside out and you don't seem to be covered in hickeys or bite marks."

"What the hell? You're here to make sure I'm not covered in hickeys? Who are you, my mother?"

They both paused for a minute at that question and gave a quick body shiver. "Lester, we had a nice dinner, talked for a bit and then watched a movie. We both want the same thing from each other and agreed to move slowly so we don't screw it up. Neither of us have a great track record in the relationship department." Steph let out a sigh. "Les, he loves me. I can't screw this up."

"Beautiful, first of all, everyone knows he loves you. It's about time he opened his mouth and told you. Second, neither of you have ever had the chance at a real relationship. Ranger married out of duty and it didn't last longer than the pregnancy. You both got married to the Dick when you shouldn't have and the on and off relationship with Morelli just about broke him. Once he met you, he never looked for a relationship with another woman." Steph looked at him with a smirk and said, "Sure Les, he wasn't with other women since he met me. I don't believe it."

"Steph, you didn't listen to what I said. I didn't say he wasn't with other women. I said he never really looked at a _relationship_ with another woman. There were a few other women that I know about in the past few years, but they were just there for relief, you know, a quick night. Not a serious relationship like we know he wants with you. Beautiful, he wasn't a monk, but then again, you weren't a nun, so…

"Anyway, we couldn't stand to be around Ranger when you were actually with Morelli. He was a pain the ass. The best thing you have ever done was to dump Morelli and come to work here. We're all happy you are here and you have proved yourself in the gym and gun range. I know Ranger tells you a lot, but we are all proud of you."

Steph wiped at the tears that were running down her cheeks and leaned over and kissed Lester on the cheek. "Thanks Lester. I'm happy that I came here too. I didn't think I could do everything, but I did and I'm proud of myself too. I need to get to bed, I have a meeting with Tank bright and early to go over what they want me to do with the client side of the company. "

Lester walked to the door and stopped and smiled at her. "I'm really happy that you're happy Beautiful. Just know that if Ranger screws this up to the point of no repair, there's plenty of guys in this building who would be very willing to take his place, starting with me." He blew her a kiss and walked out the door.

Steph stood with her mouth hanging open and thought "Holy crap."


	9. Chapter 9

~20~

The next three months flew by for Stephanie. She was learning so much of the business side of RangeMan. Tank worked with her to learn the client side of RangeMan and she was now meeting on her own with current clients and was handling the prospective client meetings. She had made some changes to the process and had brought in more new clients in her first three months than the company had brought in the entire previous year. She had asked Tank if she could have someone assist in her office a few times a week, just helping with the extra paperwork that was generated by her success in building up the client base. He agreed and had asked for a volunteer. The response was overwhelming and Steph ended up needing to interview the top prospects and ended up picking Manny. Manny now helped her a couple mornings a week and if she kept drawing in new clients at the rate she was going now, he would be working for her full time. She loved what she was doing, even though she had to keep up with her training in the gym and the gun range. She still didn't like her gun, but she was comfortable using it.

Her time with Ranger in the evenings took a back seat most nights to her work. They still got together a few nights a week to eat dinner together, either in the building or out at a restaurant. The physical side of their growing relationship was going far too slow for Steph's liking. She had agreed with Ranger that they needed to move slow and not jump into bed on their first date, but seriously, it's been three months and he wouldn't do more than kiss her or hold her hand if they were walking together outside of work hours. She wanted more and by God, he was going to have to step up soon or she was not going to be responsible for her actions. Some of the guys were complaining to each other about the sexual tension in the air whenever Steph and Ranger were in the same room.

Finally, Steph had had enough and was taking things into her hands. She worked with Ella to come up with a romantic menu for a dinner and she had asked Ranger to stop by her apartment for dinner about an hour after she was done for the day. She told him to drop by for dinner and promised that she wouldn't do the cooking. She hurried upstairs to her apartment after her last meeting and jumped in the shower. A quick shower and change of clothes were first on the agenda. Hair and makeup was next and she was just slipping her shoes on when there was a knock on her door.

She gave herself one last smirk in the mirror and headed to open the door. She opened it with a smile and then her smile fell. It was Lester, what the hell? "Les, what the hell are you doing here?" "Well, geez Beautiful, I thought you'd be happy to see me." "Les, I'm waiting for Ranger to come for dinner. You need to leave." Lester looked her over, up, down and back up her body again, and then got a big smile on his face. "Is tonight the big night? Are you finally going to get some and become a nice person again? You really need to get some Steph, you're acting so moody some of the guys asked if you have PMS all the time." Steph hit him in the arm and pushed him out the door. "I'm not going to get anything if you don't leave. Now get-out!"

She shut the door behind him and went out to the kitchen to open a bottle of wine. She had been planning on waiting for Ranger to arrive before opening it, but after the last five minutes, she could use a drink to calm her nerves. She had taken her first drink when there was a knock on her door. She set her glass down and went to the door. This time she looked out the peephole and sighed when she saw it was Bobby. Good god, what is wrong with these men tonight? She yanked the door open and said, "What?" "Jeez Bomber, I just ran into Lester and he said tonight was the night. I just wanted to stop by and make sure you were going to be well protected. Most of the guys contributed so you should have a good variety to choose from tonight." He held up a small, brown bag and shook it. She grabbed it and slammed the door shut. She looked inside and blushed. Good lord, they must think she's a nymphomaniac. There had to be at least three dozen condoms inside, various brands, sizes and from the looks of it, colors. She took the bag into her bedroom and as she was walking into the room, there was another knock on the door. She threw the bag on her bed and headed to the door.

She flung open the door and there stood Ranger. Looking so good in a pair of dark jeans and a button down shirt. Yum Yum! "Babe", he chuckled, almost blushing. "What? You look good." "So do you Babe, so do you." He walked in and gave her a kiss on the cheek. She led him to the dining room and had him sit down. She poured him a glass of wine and he smirked at the table set up. Ella had gone a bit overboard with the setting, but still, it looked nice no matter how many candles were lit. She headed into the kitchen and brought out the first course. Ella had left a note for her with when to serve which plate and she didn't want to screw it up. They made idle chit chat about work as they worked their way through all of the courses. Once they finished eating, Ranger helped clear the dishes and when he saw the note from Ella, he smiled, but didn't say anything to Steph. He knew that tonight was different than the past few times he'd had dinner with her. She was up to something and he hoped it was the same thing he wanted.

They went into the living room and Ranger found the remote for her stereo and turned on some music and pulled her into his arms to dance. "Thank you for dinner Babe, it was excellent." She laughed and said, "You know I didn't make it so you really should thank Ella." He pulled her closer and rested his cheek against hers. The shoes she was wearing brought her closer to his height and he planned to take full advantage of it. The longer they danced, the more adventurous their hands were getting. Ranger was slowly working the zipper of her dress down while Steph had pulled the back of his shirt out from being tucked in his pants and her hands were running over his skin. He slowly pulled away from her and leaned down to kiss her. The kiss quickly escalated and when they both pulled away, they were both breathing heavily. "Babe?" Steph didn't say anything, just pulled him by the hand down the hall towards her bedroom.

He stopped her about halfway down the hall and backed her into the wall. He reached down her backside and lifted her up until she wrapped her legs around his waist. He started to kiss his way down her neck and had pushed the neckline of her dress down as far as he could before continuing his path of kisses down her body. She gasped and eventually said, "Bedroom. Now." He started walking again with her wrapped around him and kicked open the bedroom door. He was walking with her towards the bed and stopped short and started laughing. "Babe, what's with the condoms?" She whipped her head and around and blushed. "The guys took up a collection for us. Apparently, we've been moody and they wanted to make sure we were protected." Ranger laughed and dropped her on the bed, right on top of the condoms. "Babe, let's see how many of them we can use."


	10. Chapter 10

~21~

After the first round of fast and frantic sex, they slowed down. Most of the condoms had been pushed off the bed during their activity, but by the end, Steph had a few stuck to her back. Ranger peeled them off of her when was holding her in his arms, while letting their heart rates get back in the normal range. Steph was laying with a smirk on her face and he leaned over and gently kissed her. "Babe, what's with the smirk?" "Just happy that I finally got you in my bed. Going slow was good to start with, but you moved way too slow." He started to tickle her and that started another round of lovemaking. This time, they went much slower and relished in the feel of each other.

By the next morning, they had gone through a good amount of the condoms and in the morning, Steph picked up the ones that were left and put them back in the bag. Ranger raised an eyebrow and she said, "I'm seeing what's left and trying to decide if I want to keep them or give them back to the guys." "Babe, I'd rather the guys not know how many we used. Keep them here and I have a box upstairs that we can use when we are at my apartment." "Ok Ranger. Actually, I think I'm going to talk to Bobby about something for me that's more long term, like the shots. I can't remember to take my pills so I need a different option. Of course, it might take a few weeks or so to become effective, but then…" She trailed off and laughed at the expression on his face. "Babe, no more condoms? It's been years for me to go without. After Julie, sometimes I even doubled up just so there wouldn't be another Julie in the works." She laughed and went into take a shower. He followed and eventually they finished and got dressed.

They headed down to the control room and when they got off the elevator, they were met with applause from the guys on the floor. Steph blushed and Ranger just stood there glaring at them. "Seriously guys? Were we really that bad?" she asked. Lester came forward and said, "I think I speak for all of RangeMan when I say 'Thank you God, you two finally had sex'." She punched him in the arm and Ranger still just glared at the guys. She leaned over and gave Ranger a brief kiss before heading into her office. She shut the door and got to work, as she was going to be out of the office most of the afternoon on client visits and she had some emails to get written and sent to potential new clients. She wanted her department to become the biggest money maker of the company. Ranger smacked Lester upside the head and headed into his office, shutting the door. He had a lot of work to do, but all he could do was sit at his desk with a goofy grin on his face.

Ranger managed to stay holed up in his office until lunch time. He knew Steph was going to be out all afternoon, so he grabbed Tank and they headed out for lunch. They stopped at the bonds office after lunch to grab any new files for RangeMan. Tank made no mention of the previous night's activity, but every time he looked at Ranger, he had a smirk on his face. Ranger put up with it until they were on their way back to RangeMan. "What is up with you today Tank? Every time I look at you, you are smirking. You have something to say?" "What? No man, I'm just happy for you and Bomber. Try not to fuck it up." Ranger reached over and tried to smack Tank in the head, but Tank ducked out of the way and laughed.

Once they got back to the office, Ranger checked in with the control room and was informed about an alarm problem that the customers wanted to meet with him, at their location. He sighed and went into his office to grab some of his gear and then headed back down to the garage. Hector was waiting for him and they headed out to the customer's store. Once again, Ranger found himself being looked at by one of his guys. "What?" he said to Hector. Hector smiled and made some crude sounds and hand gestures and laughed. Ranger waited until they got parked and out of the car and then smacked Hector on the back of the head. He let out another sigh and headed into the store to find out what was going on with their alarm system. Two hours later, Ranger and Hector got back into the car. The customer's youngest employee had been messing around with the alarm system, trying to find a way around it so he could sneak in after hours and goof around with his friends. What he didn't know was that the alarm system had a video camera installed and they were able to figure out the problem quickly. What took so long was the fact the customer wanted to go over the entire system and ended up deciding to upgrade systems, so he shouldn't be mad because it will bring in more money to the company, but he was tired and wanted to get back to Steph.

~22~

Once back in the office, Ranger had a hard time concentrating. His mind kept going back to the previous night and all he and Stephanie said and did. He knew he loved her and he was pretty sure she loved him, even though neither one had said it out loud. He knew he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her, but again, he didn't want to rush her. He came with some baggage - physical, mental and emotional. Steph loved spending time with Julie whenever she came to visit, but becoming her stepmom was a big step. Julie had been pestering him to marry Steph and the last time he saw her in Miami was right when Steph started her training. She even got Rachel involved in pestering him and so now, about once a week, he gets emails from both of them asking about Steph.

He had planned to take Steph on a tour to all of the branch offices in a few weeks so she can share some of her triumphs in getting clients with the rest of the client departments. She really had increased the revenue for the Trenton office, falling only behind the FTA area. The FTA's that RangeMan went after were very high bonds so there was no way any other area of the company would catch up to them in revenue. He opened up his laptop and started to make plans for the trip with Steph. They would start with the Boston office, then head to Chicago, then Atlanta and finally Miami. He planned to spend an extra week in Miami after their work was done so she could have a break from work. It had been about six months since she started with her training program and classes and she never really took any time off from work. Living in the building did that to some of them, but she was learning to leave things on her desk and not go down in the middle of the night to work on it. She'd taken a day off here and there, but even then, she spent part of her evening working once she came back. He planned to spend a few days with Julie while in Miami and after the last email he got from her, where she threatened to call Steph and tell her how he felt about her, he decided to not tell her or Rachel about their relationship. Let it be a surprise and show Julie and Rachel that he really could do something right with Steph. Now he just had to tell Steph about the trip. God, he hoped she has a skimpy bikini!


	11. Chapter 11

~23~

Steph quickly agreed to the trip to visit the other office. She was going to leave Lester in charge of the clients while she was gone. The client department was still rapidly growing and Manny was now working with Steph full time. Manny agreed to tag along and help go over the changes she'd made in Trenton. One of her big pushes on this trip would be for the other offices to hire at least one woman to handle clients. She wasn't sure how that would go over, but with Manny there to share his experiences working with Steph, she hoped things would work out. Ranger wasn't too excited that Manny was going along, but Manny would be heading back to Trenton after the Atlanta visit.

Ranger and Steph were spending almost all of their free time together, either staying at night in her apartment or upstairs in his. He really wanted her to move in with him, but that was rushing things and they agreed to take it slower than they normally would have in the past. She was able to get him out of the office on the weekends that he didn't have to work and taught him how to sit and relax. One day she had gotten him to the beach and they were just laying on towels with their shoes kicked off. It wasn't warm enough to swim or to even strip down to swimsuits, but she still got him there. They were looking up at the clouds and picking out shapes. Ranger kept laughing at her because all of her cloud shapes turned into food and she laughed at him because his all turned into weapons or cars.

They stopped at Pino's for pizza on the way back to the building and ran into Morelli. He was there with a few other police officers and stopped by their table on his way out. "Steph, Manoso. How are you?" he asked. Steph looked up and said, "We're good Joe. It's nice to see you." "I'm on my way out and just wanted to say hello", he said. Ranger nodded to him but didn't say anything. He knew this was the first time Steph had seen him since she walked out of his house. Joe nodded back to Ranger and he walked out the door. Ranger looked at Steph and asked, "Babe, you okay?" She smiled at him and reached over to grab his hand, linking her fingers through his. "You know, I am okay. I knew I'd see him eventually and hopefully the awkwardness is past us." The waitress dropped off their food just then so she let go of his hand and dug into the pizza. Her enthusiasm eating cause him to shift in his seat a few times. He looked at her and smiled. "Babe." "What? I enjoy food." "Babe, eat faster because I need to get you home and see if you can enjoy something else." She gave her a blinding smile and laughed when she started shoving pizza in her mouth.

As he paid the bill, Steph walked over and talked to some of the other cops that were there. He joined her, nodded his hellos and then ushered out the door. He helped into his car and then drove as fast as he could back to RangeMan. He slammed the brakes on and jumped out of the car, running around to her side before she could even get her seatbelt unbuckled. "Jesus Ranger, I'm not going anywhere. You know you're going to get some when we get upstairs so just calm down." He pulled her out of the car and threw her over his shoulder and headed to the stairs. He didn't even want to wait on the elevator. They bounded up the stairs with her swatting his butt the entire way up seven floors. He kicked open his apartment door and turned around to kick it shut, but Steph had already reached back and swung it shut. He set her down, backed her up against the closed door and attacked. Her laughter turned to moans and eventually she slid down the door to the floor trying to catch her breath. He leaned against the door and slowed his breathing down before picking her up and carrying her to the bedroom, where they spent the rest of the night together. They had long ago used up the condom supply from the guys and Ranger had stocked up both of their bedroom side tables. They made a good sized dent in his supply that night.

~24~

Finally it was time to head out of the other RangeMan offices. Steph ended up with 4 suitcases full of clothes and shoes. Ranger had 1 suitcase and a duffel bag. He stood eyeing her suitcases and shaking his head. "What? Do you want me to look like a slob when we get there? I don't know what the weather is going to be so I have to be prepared. Besides, I packed something just for you for Miami." She laughed at him and answered the knock at the door. Lester had come up to help with the luggage and they all rode in the elevator together to the garage. Lester helped load the luggage and pulled her in for a hug and good bye kiss. Ranger growled when Lester's kiss landed on her lips and he just laughed and said, "I can give you a kiss too if you want." Lester ducked out of the way before Ranger could smack him in the head. Steph laughed and pulled Ranger into the car. They had decided to drive to Boston, just the two of them. Ranger had plans to stop in New York City for the night and treat her to a show and dinner. Maybe even a carriage ride through Central Park. Manny was flying and would meet them at the Boston RangeMan building.

The drive to New York City went fairly quick. Traffic was minimal and once they agreed on the type of music to listen to, they sang along. Steph never knew Ranger had such a sweet singing voice. She'd have to work to get him to sing to her more. Ranger pulled up to The Plaza Hotel and Steph let out a gasp. He handed the keys to the valet and helped her out of the car. "Ready to go check-in Eloise?" he asked, laughing and pulling her into his arms. "Ranger, we're staying at The Plaza? Really? I've always wanted to stay here ever since I read the Eloise books." "Babe, I know, you told me that once and I thought this would be a great chance to treat you. Nothing but the best for my Babe. Now, let's go check-in and see if we can find you something with Eloise on it from the shops."

Ranger handled the check-in and found Stephanie looking around the lobby, just taking it all in. He had to admit, it was a bit overwhelming. He walked over to her and said, "Babe, you ready to go upstairs? They are sending our bags up so we're free to head up." "Ranger, look at that shop. It's all Eloise themed. I'm sure I can find something for my nieces in there." "Babe, let's go upstairs and then we can figure out what we want to do while we're in town. I was thinking about maybe a show and then a late dinner." He led her to the elevator and put his key card in the elevator. It took them straight to their floor without stopping at any of the other floors. She looked at him and he just smiled. When the elevator door opened, it opened up into a suite that he had booked for them. He grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the elevator. "Babe, it's not the Eloise suite, but we are at the tippy tippy top of the building." She looked at him with her mouth hanging open. "First of all, wow. A suite at the top of The Plaza. And second, you know about Eloise?" "Babe, Julie went through a phase. Maybe next time she comes to visit us, we can get your nieces and spend the weekend here and maybe even in the Eloise suite." Stephanie jumped into his arms and kissed him for a long time. "Babe."

They unpacked once their bags were delivered and decided to go see Chicago and then a late dinner at a restaurant near the hotel. Steph headed into the bathroom to take a shower and before she could finish, Ranger had joined her. The shower went on for a bit longer than normal and they both ended up getting dressed together in the bedroom. Steph headed back into the bathroom to finish up her hair and makeup and when she came out, Ranger was speechless. She was wearing a beautiful blue dress that hugged her curves in all the right places, silver heels and had done her hair up in a half up do with several strands of curls hanging down to frame her face. "Babe, you look beautiful. Here I think this will go with your dress tonight." He handed her a long flat jewelry box. She looked at him and said, "You don't have to buy me anything. This hotel room is enough." "Babe, just open it and accept it. I can afford to buy you pretty things so learn to enjoy them, please." "Damn you Ranger, you just had to say please, didn't you?" He reached over and wiped away the tears that she had been unaware were even falling down her face. She opened the box and let out a gasp. It was a beautiful diamond and sapphire bracelet. He reached over and took it out of the box and put it on her wrist. He kissed her hand and then said, "Go fix your makeup Babe so we can go." She gave him a kiss and said, "Thank you Ranger. It's beautiful." "No Babe, the bracelet is sparkly, you are what's beautiful." He gently pushed her towards the bathroom and waited by the door for her, holding her wrap and purse. She came out a few minutes later and walked over to him. She gave him another kiss and then they were off.

Once they stepped outside of the hotel, Ranger opened a door to a cab that was waiting for them. It was only a 10 minute ride to the theater and once they arrived, he grabbed her hand and they walked in to find their seats. Ranger stepped out after Steph was seated and came back with a glass of wine for each of them. They chatted quietly until the show started and then Steph was lost in the wonder of the musical. Chicago was one of her favorites and this was the first time she'd seen it live. Ranger refilled their wine at intermission and the second half of the show was even better than the first. When they stood at the end for the curtain call, Ranger could see that this was a dream come true for Stephanie. He had made arrangements prior to the show to have a meet and greet with the cast once it was over and when he pulled Stephanie backstage, she was speechless. Ranger knocked on one of the dressing room doors and when they heard the yelled "come in" he opened the door and pulled Steph inside. Lana Gordan was sitting at her dressing table, taking off her stage makeup. She looked up and saw Ranger and Steph and jumped up. She ran over and threw herself into Ranger's arms. Steph looked shocked, but Ranger was laughing. "Hello Lana. I see you're just as excited as ever." "Carlos, you should have told me you were coming tonight. I would have marked off some seats for you two." She turned towards Steph and held out her hand. "Lana Gordan, nice to meet you." Steph shook her hand and smiled. "Stephanie Plum. Ranger, I didn't know you knew someone in the show." Lana laughed and looked at Ranger. "Stephanie? The infamous Stephanie?" "Lana, please," said Ranger. Lana grabbed Steph's hand and pulled her over to the couch. They sat down and Steph looked at her and said, "Whatever you heard, it wasn't my fault. Well, most of it wasn't my fault, but there were a few times it really was my fault."

Lana laughed and looked at Ranger. "Carlos, she's perfect for you. I hope you don't let her get away." Ranger smiled and said, "Babe, Lana is an old friend from the neighborhood. In fact, she was my first girlfriend. She broke my poor little 12 year old heart. Anytime I get to New York, I try to stop by and see her." Steph looked at the two of them in amazement and thought, "Wow, a fact about Batman's childhood." Lana and Ranger burst into laughter and Steph blushed. Apparently the thought came out of her mouth. "So, tell me about Ranger's wild youth." Lana launched into story after story and by the end of an hour, Ranger put a stop to it. He stood up and pulled Stephanie off the couch. "Babe, if we're going to get dinner, we'd best be going." He pulled Lana in for a hug and she whispered something into his ear. He blushed and nodded while saying, "That will not happen." Lana hugged Steph and whispered to her "Carlos loves you. Take care of him." Steph smiled and reached back for Ranger's hand. Lana smiled at them and walked them to the door. "Come back again and visit. I'll be here, just singing and dancing." Ranger gave her a kiss on the cheek and then he walked Steph out the door.


	12. Chapter 12

~25~

They walked out of the theatre, hand in hand. Ranger asked if she wanted to walk back towards the hotel and stop to eat dinner along the way. Steph agreed and they set off. Steph had been to New York City many times, but never had this much time to just wander. They strolled along and found a place to eat. They were seated by a window so they could watch the city as they ate. They talked quietly between themselves and finally Steph couldn't take it any longer. "Ranger, what did Lana say to you when we were leaving? You blushed. I've never seen you blush before." "Babe, she just told me to stop being an ass and never let go of you and that you're the one for me. That we're the perfect person for each other." "How does she know so much about me if this is the first time I've met her?" "Babe, I've kept in touch with her over the years and helped her out with some money when she first moved to the city. She has a wonderful talent and I knew she belong on Broadway, but it was tough to break out of the old neighborhood. I grew up in a neighborhood that was similar to the Burg. Just not quite as gossipy though." They talked the rest of the meal about their childhoods and how they broke out of them.

After dinner they walked back towards the hotel. Ranger detoured them through Central Park and then waved down a horse and carriage and they took a ride through the park. Ranger talked to the driver had him stop at the fountain near the center of the park. He helped Steph down out of the carriage and walked with her, hand in hand, to the front of the fountain. He leaned in a gave her a gentle kiss. "Having fun Babe?" She stood looking around the park and admiring the art work of the fountain. "You bet I am Ranger. I love New York but have never spent this much time just wandering around. Thank you for bringing me here on the way to Boston." Ranger fidgeted around and then finally grabbed her hands and turned her around to face him.

"Babe," Ranger started, but then stopped and cleared his throat. "Ranger, are you okay?"

"Babe," Ranger tried again, but just couldn't get his thoughts out. "Ranger?"

"Oh hell." With that he knelt down and pulled a ring out of his pocket. "Marry me?"

Steph stood with her mouth hanging open, just staring at him. "What?"

Ranger smiled and said, "I had a big speech all worked out, but once I looked at you, standing here in the moonlight, by the fountain, enjoying our time here together, I just lost my ability to remember what I had come up with, so I'll just wing it. Babe, I love you, more than I have ever loved anyone else. I love everything about you. I love when you figure out something at work. I love how hard you worked in your classes and training but still hate your gun. I love your love of food, even though most of what you eat will kill you. I love how loving you are to everyone, even those who don't deserve your love. I love your spunk and enthusiasm. I love your courage and willingness to help at work, regardless of the situation. I love that you love Julie as if she were your own daughter. Babe, I love all of you and want to spend the rest of my life with you, make a family with you. Please Babe, please marry me."

Steph still just stood, not moving, not speaking, tears running down her face, just standing and staring at him. "Babe, you're leaving me hanging down here." "Huh? Oh Carlos, I love you too. So yes, yes, I'll marry you." He slid the ring on her finger and standing up, pulled her in for a kiss. They stood wrapped around each other for a few minutes and then he walked her back to the carriage. She had forgotten it was still sitting there waiting for them. Ranger helped her in and then told the driver to take them to the Plaza. The driver handed Ranger a camera and joked with him. "She left you hanging there for a minute young man. Glad to see it worked out and I was able to videotape it for you. Sit back and enjoy the ride. Congratulations to you miss and to your young man." Stephanie smiled and thanked him. Ranger sat down next to her and they snuggled under a blanket. Ranger pulled her hand out with the ring on it and kissed her fingers, one at a time. She looked down at her ring and gasped. "Ranger, this ring is huge." "We can take it in and get it sized if it's too big." "No, the diamond is huge. I don't know if I can wear this without worrying about losing it." Ranger laughed and said, "It will be okay Babe. I can always get you another one if you lose it." Before she could reply, they pulled up in front of the hotel. Ranger helped her out, shook the driver's hand and passed him a tip. The man congratulated them again and they headed up to their suite.


	13. Chapter 13

~26~

Ranger had made arrangements with the hotel to have a bottle of champagne available when the returned to the suite. They toasted and celebrated long into the wee hours the next day. Ranger was able to get Steph out of the hotel by about noon and they were soon headed to Boston. Ranger took the route along the water and Steph convinced him to stop in Mystic, CT for pizza at the famous restaurant from one of her favorite movies. They browsed the shops in Mystic and he added to her jewelry collection with a few new pieces. She bought some photos that were framed of the beach and water.

It was early evening when Ranger pulled into the parking garage of RangeMan Boston. Steph had never been to this office and was a bit nervous meeting these Rangemen. Ranger tried to sooth her nerves and agreed that she should take her engagement ring off when they were with the staff, just until they announced the engagement. They were debating over doing it at the end of the trip or even hold off until another time. Steph was in no hurry to have the actual wedding but Ranger was hoping to convince her to do it when they were in Miami. Just the two of them, Julie and Ranger's brother that lived in Miami. He had looked into having a ceremony at the beach and was going to bring it up once they were closer to that part of their trip.

Ranger parked the car and walked around to get Steph. Together, they pulled their luggage out and before they could figure out how to get it all upstairs, the elevator doors opened and a RangeMan stepped out. "Hey boss man, welcome," said the RangeMan. Ranger nodded and said, "Thanks Gunner. Meet Stephanie Plum, head of client relations in Trenton. She's going to give the guys an overview of how she turned the client area around with an overhaul and it's now the second leading profit earner in Trenton, only behind bonds. Steph, this is Gunner." Gunner held out his hand to her and she shook it. "Nice to meet you Ms. Plum. Welcome to Boston." "Please, not Ms. Plum. Call me Steph or Bomber. The Trenton guys branded me as Bomber." Gunner looked at Ranger and said, "This is the Bombshell? You brought the Bombshell to Boston? Whoa, I better warn the guys and lock up anything that could explode." Gunner and Ranger both started laughing, but Steph was not amused. "Seriously, you guys gossip more than a group of teenage girls." She rolled her eyes and grabbed a bag. The guys divided the rest of the bags and they all got into the elevator. Ranger used his key fob to head to the 7th floor to his apartment.

Gunner helped get the bags into the apartment and then said his goodbyes. Steph was sure he was running down to the control room to share the news that the Bomber was in the building. She looked around the apartment, dropping one of her bags on the bed in the only bedroom. "Seriously Ranger, this looks just like your apartment in Trenton. A little variety or color wouldn't kill you, would it?" Ranger looked at her with a big smile on his face and said, "Babe."

They unpacked their bags and ate the dinner that the Boston version of Ella had left for them. Ranger headed down to his office for a few hours while Steph stayed upstairs and went over her notes for the training in the morning. About an hour after Ranger left, there was a knock at the door. She walked over and found Manny standing there smiling at her when she opened the door. "Hey, come on in. Did you just get here?" Manny came in and they sat down at the table where Steph had her notes for the training spread out. They went over the order of what they wanted to do and before she knew it, Ranger was back in the apartment. He greeted them and went into the bedroom to change his clothes. He came back out and found Manny heading to the door. He stood back and watched Manny give Steph a hug and kiss on the cheek before he walked out the door. He smiled and caught up with Steph, who was putting her notes away for the night. "Babe, you never disappoint." "What?" "Babe, you turned Manny, who is a highly decorated Navy Seal, into a mushy lump. He never hugs or kisses me when he leaves my office." Steph reached over and tried to smack Ranger but he grabbed her arm and threw her over his shoulder and ran into the bedroom.


	14. Chapter 14

~27~

The next morning, Steph and Manny set up their presentation in the biggest conference room in the building. She had asked Ranger to have the client team there, as well as management staff from the office. Ranger came in a few minutes before the meeting was going to start and pulled her in for a hug and kiss. "Babe, I know you're nervous, but you'll be great." She smiled and started to walk back to the front of the room when she felt Ranger smack her on the butt. She gasped and turned around to see Ranger laughing. "Babe, you need to relax." She just nodded and headed back to talk to Manny. The room filled up with RangeMen and they all quieted down when Ranger cleared his throat. "Let me introduce you to Stephanie Plum, head of client relations in the Trenton office. Steph has managed to turn around the way RangeMan is seen in the public eye. She's added more contracts in the first three months of her job than our office did in an entire year. Together with Manny, they have implemented many changes and she's here to share her knowledge and help go over what you, as the representatives of RangeMan Boston, can do so your contract area can improve and give the Trenton office a run for best office of the year. I ask that you give Stephanie the same attention and respect that you give to me."

With that, he turned and headed to the back of the room and sat down. Steph stood up and glanced at him with a smile before she started to speak. She faced the room and smiled at the guys. "Well, I think that's the most I've heard Ranger say at one time in the entire time I've known him." The guys all chuckled. "As Ranger said, my name is Stephanie Plum and I am the head of client relations at the Trenton office. As most of you know, the guys at Trenton have dubbed me the Bombshell or Bomber for short. While, trouble does seem to find me, I will tell you that most of it wasn't my fault." Ranger smiled at her and shook his head. The guys all laughed and then she got down to business. She talked for about an hour, stopping to answer questions and then let the guys take a short break. Ranger pulled her into his arms and gave her a long kiss once the room was empty. "You're doing a great job Babe. I need to leave for a different meeting, but just keep going until lunch and then I'll meet you upstairs."

The rest of the day went well for Steph and Manny. The Boston guys were onboard with most of her changes and only balked at the one about hiring a woman to help in the office. They were a man's company and while they argued with her and refused to bend, Ranger sat back and let her fight this battle. He knew that all he had to do was issue the order and the guys would comply, but he didn't want to go over Steph's decisions.

Steph let out a big sigh and looked over at Ranger. He merely quirked an eyebrow at her. She gave him a disgusted look and turned back to the guys. "Ok, so you don't want to hire a woman fulltime for the client side, but what do you do for distractions? Does one of the guys dress in drag to lure the skip out?" That earned her a full chuckles, but she looked at them sternly. "I'm serious guys. Who does the distractions?" Gunner spoke up and said, "We don't do distractions. If we need to pull a skip out of a bar, we just go in a get him." Steph looked at Ranger and noted he wasn't going to speak up.

"Ok, so you just go into the bar and go up to the skip and he always follows you out? Peacefully? No damage to the bar that RangeMan has to pay for afterwards?" Again, Gunner was the only one to answer her and said, "Well, no. Most of the time there's a scuffle and we end up getting a bill from the bar that we pay to replace what was broken." "Gotcha" Steph thought. She looked over at Ranger and gave him a smirk. "Ok, let's take a look at the bills from these captures that comes out of the capture fees in the end. Let's compare that to the cost of a fulltime female employee, who could not only work in the office and deal with clients, but could also do distractions to get the skip out peacefully. Somebody get me the numbers by the time we get back in the morning. That's it for today. See you tomorrow."

The room quickly cleared out and soon it was only Steph, Ranger and Manny left. Manny looked at her and smiled. "You know what you're doing with these guys?" Steph smiled and said, "Yep, I just hope the numbers come out like I think they will so it prove to them what a fulltime female staff member would be able to accomplish and how much the company would benefit." Ranger told Manny to take the night off and go have fun. He had some friends from his Navy days that lived in the city and was going to go see them. "See you in the morning Steph, you too boss." Once Manny left, Ranger pulled Steph into his arms. "Do you know how sexy you are when you're lecturing the guys? I was glad I didn't have to stand up for any reason while you were talking because it would have been a bit too hard to do." She laughed at him and he threw her over his shoulder and ran up the stairs to the apartment. He kicked the door shut behind them and they weren't heard from again until the next morning.

The next morning the guys came into the conference room and found that Steph had set up a white board and had listed the numbers from the Trenton office for distraction costs with and without the use of a female worker. They sat down and she started going over Trenton's numbers. Luckily, Tank was able to send the numbers to her last night and she got up earlier than usual so she could set up the board. She never realized how much of a cost savings it was for RangeMan when she did a distraction for Ranger. From the look on Ranger's face, he didn't realize how much it was either.

Steph asked for the numbers from Gunner and he handed over a sheet of paper. She looked it over for a minute and then wrote the Boston numbers in a different color next to Trenton's numbers. She asked Ranger to take a picture of the board once everything was done so she'd have the numbers for the next office on the trip. She planned to do this part of the training, regardless of the hiring of a woman. Once she had the numbers on the board, she stepped aside and asked the guys to compare, just the numbers between the offices on how much was spent without a distraction job. The two offices were pretty close in costs, with Boston being just a bit higher, which she figured was due to a higher cost of living. She talked each part of the numbers over with the guys and could see that they were still skeptical. She looked at Gunner and said, "Do you have any outstanding skips that have been researched?" He stepped out and came back in a few minutes later with a couple files.

She did a quick run through the files and then flipped the white board over to a blank side. She wrote down two names and their previous capture information. Both had been previous customers and both ended with destruction charges that came out of the capture fees. She turned to Ranger and raised her eyebrows at him. He nodded and she went on. "Ok, according to the files, both of these guys are due in the next few days. Tonight we will go after this one at the bar it says he goes to every night after work," she said, pointing to the first name on the board. "And tomorrow, we'll pick the other one during lunch, as it says he eats lunch every day at the same coffee shop near his office. I will provide the distraction for both skips and then we'll come back tomorrow afternoon and talk numbers. We'll use the hourly rate I was paid before I became fulltime at RangeMan as the cost of the female staff member." Ranger stood up and walked to stand by Steph. He looked at the guys and said, "That's it for today. Gunner, put a team together of 8 guys to work tonight and contact the bar owner and give him a heads up and that we plan to have one of the guys act as a bartender just while Steph is inside. Plan to have at least 3 of the guys working inside as customers. We'll need two outside the front and 2 outside the back door, just as a precaution. I'll be inside as well, to keep an eye on things. Now, I know that there are more of you in here than the 8 I am requesting, so we'll run both audio and video feeds so everyone here can learn. Dismissed."

The guys headed out of the room and Steph looked at Ranger with a smile. "I need to go shopping." "Babe, you brought four suitcases full of clothes and shoes." "Carlos, I don't have slutty clothes and that's what I need for tonight. The job tomorrow is easy enough, as I am overloaded with "work" clothes, but I need "slut" clothes now." Ranger let out a sigh and said, "Babe."


	15. Chapter 15

Manny ended up going shopping with Steph and she was back in the apartment about two hours before they planned to meet up with the guys. She got her clothes changed and then set out to do her hair and makeup. By the time Ranger came up to the apartment, she was sitting on the side of the bed, putting on her shoes. She stood up and looked at him. "Well?" He twirled his finger around in a circle and she slowly turned around. "Babe, I don't think I can let you go out looking like this way. The guys won't know how to act." She laughed and then they headed down to the control room. Ranger had the guys meet in the conference room and took control of the meeting. "Ok, Steph will be wearing a wire and ear piece, as well as a video camera, which is housed in this earring. It will provide you guys that stay behind with the video and audio from her point of view and as a team, we will use it for the debriefing that will happen after we're done tonight. Everything is already to go in the vehicles so let's get going."

Downstairs, the guys piled into three different SUV's and Ranger drove Steph separately. They parked in an empty lot across the street from the bar and gathered around. Ranger explained what would be happening and then turned to Steph. "Ready to get wired Babe?" Steph just smirked and turned her back to the guys. The guys didn't need to see the pre-game ritual that they went through to place the wire. She turned back around and smiled at the guys. "Ready to go." Ranger sent the guys inside that were going to be customers and Gunner was already inside working at the bar. Ranger asked for an update and Gunner said the skip was already there and he was ready whenever Steph was. Ranger gave Steph a light kiss and said, "Go get him Tiger." She laughed and walked away. She stopped and then turned back. "Hey, you have my ring with you?" He walked over and put it back on her finger and raised his eyebrow at her. "Part of my plan, big guy, don't worry." With that, she put an extra sway into her walk and headed inside. Ranger let the guys know that it was go time. Waiting a minute for Steph to get inside, he then headed in to watch the show.

By the time he got inside and saw Steph at the bar, she was already sitting next to the skip and was twirling the engagement ring around on her finger while doing a "shot". Gunner had put together a bottle of watered down ice tea for Steph. He had spoken with the real bartender and made sure that no one else was served from that bottle. Ranger took a seat across the bar from Steph and looked up at her. He could hear that she was muttering under her breath and saw that she motioned Gunner for another shot. By the time she finished her third shot, she had the skips attention. She looked at him and said, "I bet you don't treat women like shit, do you?" He looked her up and down and licked his lips. Ranger could tell that Steph was trying not to shudder and when he made eye contact across the bar at her, she rolled her eyes. "What's wrong with you tonight beautiful? Looks like you're trying to drink away your man troubles," the skip asked. Steph looked at him and sighed. She twirled her ring around again and asked, "What would you do if the girl you were engaged to decide that she needed another man on the side, you know to do the things in bed that you don't want to do? I mean, seriously, who wants to have an extra person in bed with them every time you have sex?" He looked at like she was dessert, but didn't say anything. "I mean, there are things that I'm willing to do, but seriously, do we need to have another woman in bed with us every time? Sure, every once in a while would be fine, and why does it always have to be another woman? Why can't it be another man?" The skip was taking a drink at that point and choked when she said that to him.

Steph asked for another shot and then turned back to the skip. "What are you doing the rest of tonight?" He looked at her and smiled, "What do you want me to be doing?" She could hear Ranger in her ear piece notify the teams outside that it was time for action. She smiled at him and said, "Well, I'd hope you would want to do me, if you're up for it?" She reached over and ran her hand down his arm. "Beautiful, I'm up for anything you want." With that, he grabbed her and pulled her up close to him. She looked at him and said, "My apartment is just down the street, is that okay?" He nodded and grabbed her hand and led her to the door. As they reached the door way, she heard the front door team announce they were ready and then heard Ranger say, "Babe, try to let go of his hand." They got to the front door and as he opened it she stumbled on her heels and let go of his hand to grab for the door. Once he let go of her, the RangeMen grabbed him and hauled him off to the side and put handcuffs on him. She stood back up and looked confused at him. "What's going on?" He looked at her and said, "Just a misunderstanding. Meet me here tomorrow night and we can continue with our plans." She just stood and stared at him, looking confused so he wouldn't figure out she was involved until they drove him away.

She sighed when Ranger came up behind her and wrapped a jacket around her. "You okay Babe?" She smiled and said, "Of course, works every time. Did I shock the guys with the sex talk?" Ranger laughed and kissed her. "You know you did, these aren't the Trenton guys. They don't know about group sex night." They laughed and he walked her to the car. They drove back to the RangeMan building and went upstairs so she could change. Once changed, they headed down to the conference room and she logged her time spent on the white board and sat down to write out her notes for the debriefing while they waited on the guys to come back from the police station. About an hour later, all of the guys were situated around the table and Ranger had downloaded the audio and video to the computer that was in the room. He then linked it up to the projection screen so it would be on the big screen.

Once the room quieted it down, Steph stood up and smiled at the guys. "As you can see, I added my time and cost to the board, showing how little the operation actually cost the company. I then put down the amount of the capture fee and subtracted my costs from that amount and you can see that the net gain from this one capture was more than the last five that you did without using someone as a distraction. Just think what your profits could be if you didn't have to pay out damage charges to the businesses where you capture the skip. A few of these captures barely made enough in net profit to pay your salaries for the job. I hope you saw tonight what an asset a female employee can be for the company. Now, before we watch the video of tonight, are there any questions?" Only one voice from the back of the room spoke up and asked, "Are you really engaged and do you really want to have two men in bed with you at one time? I'd be willing to volunteer."


	16. Chapter 16

~29~

Steph's head jerked up and she gasped. "Lester?" "Hey Beautiful!" Ranger growled and walked to the back of the room and pulled Lester up by his shirt collar. He stared at Lester, not saying anything but Steph could see that he was getting angrier as each second passed. "Hey boss man! How's it hanging?" Steph walked over and pulled Lester away from Ranger. "Les, what are you doing here and are you trying to get yourself killed?" "Beautiful, I missed you. There is some actual business I need to talk to Ranger about and when I heard about your distraction job tonight, I wanted to watch but my flight was late so I came here and caught the end of it in the control room. You were brilliant, as usual. But I have to know, do you really want another partner in bed? I'm up for anything you want to try. Ranger might be related to me, but I can overlook that for one night."

Steph looked over at Ranger who was taking deep breaths and pacing back and forth. "Les, I think you should go back to the control room right now. We need to debrief the guys and I think Ranger needs some time to calm down before we talk to you again." She pushed Lester out the door and locked it behind him and then turned back to Ranger and the room full of guys. "Well, that was fun, wasn't it? Let's get on with the dissection of the distraction." She started video and went over every little bit of the night with the guys.

By the time they were done, Ranger had calmed down and Steph just shook her head and led him out to go upstairs for the night. "Ranger, you need to calm down when we go out and see Les. Honestly, I'm surprised we haven't heard from him before now." Ranger took a deep breathe, grabbed Steph's hand and walked out into the control room. He looked at Lester and said, "Upstairs" and then pulled Steph to the elevator. Lester followed behind and they rode upstairs to the apartment in silence.

Ranger opened the apartment door and walked straight to the kitchen. He pulled a bottle of water out and drank it completely without stopping. He grabbed a second one and headed out to the living room. Steph and Lester were sitting on the couch, gossiping about the Trenton office. They looked up at Ranger and Steph smiled at him. "I think tonight went very well, don't you? The skip was easy to deal with, the numbers showed the guys they need a female employee and I got a new pair of shoes." Lester laughed and looked at Ranger. "I know you are upset that I'm here, but in addition to catching the end of the show, I do have some business to discuss with you." He looked at Steph, looked at the bedroom door and then back to her. She said and said, "Ok, I get it. Top secret shit, if I tell you I have to kill you, blah blah blah. I'm going to shower and then go to bed. Les, I'll see you in the morning. You're welcome to stay here on the couch if there aren't any open beds downstairs." She gave Lester a kiss on the cheek and gave Ranger a much longer kiss. Once the kiss was over, she sashayed out of the room. Lester made kissy sounds and asked, "Hey, you never told me if you were really engaged." "Good night Lester."

Ranger sat down in a chair across the where Lester was sitting on the couch. He raised one eyebrow and Lester started talking. Lester talked nonstop for about twenty minutes and then stopped. He looked at Ranger and said, "Well, what should we do?" Ranger looked at him and shook his head. "What should we do? This is all you, you dumbass. You figure it out." Lester looked at him and said, "Aren't you going to help me?" Ranger stood up, shook his head and said, "No, you didn't keep it in your pants, you figure it out." He turned and walked to the closet and pulled out a pillow and blanket and threw them at Les before walking into the bedroom. Once the bedroom door closed, Les could hear Ranger laughing again. Lester shook his head and quickly stripped out of his shirt and jeans and laid down on the couch. He let out a big sigh, heard Ranger still laughing and eventually feel asleep.

~30~

Steph looked up from her laptop when Ranger opened the bedroom door and then smirked when he started laughing. "What did Lester do?" Ranger couldn't stop laughing and it took him a few minutes to catch his breath and calm down enough to talk. "Babe, it's good, but I'll let the dumbass tell you himself in the morning." He went into the bathroom and started the shower. Steph turned off her laptop and laid down to wait for Ranger to come to bed. Ranger got into bed with her and pulled her close to him and together they fell asleep, Ranger with a smile on his face.

The next morning Steph bounced out of bed and went out to get the story out of Lester. She stopped short in the living room when she found it empty. The rat had even put the pillow and blanket away. She sighed and went into the kitchen to start the coffee. Ranger came into the apartment from the gym, took a cup of coffee with him into the bathroom. Steph joined him a few minutes later and together they got ready for the day. They only had two more days in Boston and she wanted to meet one more time with the guys and help them find the perfect woman to work in the office. She had previously requested all of the applications from women that had applied in the past year and that were not even looked at because they were female. Together, Steph and Ranger headed down to the control room and she found Lester sitting at an empty cubicle pounding away on his laptop.

He looked up when she approached and gave her a small smile. "Did he tell you?" She shook her head and said, "Nope, he said I was supposed to let the dumbass tell me about it. What did you do?" He shook his head and said, "Not here, let's go out for lunch." She agreed and then went into the conference room. Ranger, Gunner and a couple of the other guys were already seated at the table and a good sized pile of folders were spread out on the table. She sat down and dug into a stack. Together, they had come up with a small stack of possible candidates, and Steph was impressed with how well the guys from this office worked together and came up with the list. She decided to make the calls herself to the candidates and in the end, came up with 5 that were still interested and could come in the next day for interviews. She set up a schedule and helped put the group of guys together that would lead the interviews. She planned to be in the room, but would not lead.

When lunch time came, Lester met Steph and Ranger in the garage. Lester groaned when he saw Ranger, but Ranger just laughed and said, "I want to hear your explanation to her." Steph shook her head at them and got in the car. They ended up in a small, family type restaurant and once they ordered, she looked at Lester and said, "Well?" Ranger chuckled and she looked at him and glared. "You be quiet. This is not your story. Les?" Lester looked at her and said, "Well Beautiful, I've screwed up. I…"


	17. Chapter 17

_Note - I left the last chapter as a cliff hanger because I didn't know what Lester was going to say. Once I decided, it became a matter of who instead of what. I hope you enjoy my choice._

"I…I…" Lester kept mumbling. Steph reached over and grabbed his hands and held them. She looked at him and said, "Les, whatever it is, we'll help you through it. Won't we Ranger?" Ranger just started laughing and shook his head. "Babe, I can't promise that once you hear what he says." "Les, please?"

Lester took a deep breathe, looked her in the eye and said, "I went to Atlantic City last weekend with the guys. We went out to the casinos and clubs and drank. We drank a lot. When I woke up the next morning, I wasn't alone in bed." Steph smiled and said, "Les, that can't be the first time that's happened, right?" "Well, no, but it's the first time I've woken up and found out I was…" He just couldn't say it. "Lester Santos, you tell me right now what happened when you woke up." Ranger kept laughing and Steph finally hit him on the head and told him to stop. "You asked for it Beautiful. I woke up and I found out I had gotten married." Steph looked startled and then said, "What? I thought I you said you got married." Lester looked at her, gave her a small smile and said, "Yep, married." Steph looked from Lester to Ranger and then back to Lester. "Who? Who did you marry?" Ranger laughed and said, "Babe, this is where the story gets even better than just the dumbass getting married. Tell her." Lester sighed and said, "I apparently got married to Hector." He hung his head, while Ranger started laughing again. Steph sat with a shocked looked on her face and was speechless. She looked from Ranger to Lester and then pulled out her phone. She looked through her texts and found one that Bobby had sent about an hour ago. It was a picture of Lester and Hector holding hands and Hector was holding up a piece of paper, which she assumed was their marriage license. It must have been after they were married. Bobby's text said, "I have no words for what is going on in this picture, but I think it really happened. We all drank a lot and there are some gaps in my memory. Do you know where Lester is at, I'm trying to find him?"

Steph texted back that he was with them in Boston and they were just trying to figure out what happened. Lester has no memory of the night. Steph asked that Bobby get all of the guys that went to Atlantic City to send her the pictures from their phones and any memories they have, she wanted to put together a time line. She also asked Bobby where Hector was at, as Lester didn't know. Lester confessed that when he woke up and saw Hector and the marriage license, he panicked and ran out of the hotel and drove here to Boston.

Bobby replied that he'd tell the rest of the guys and Hector was back in his apartment and wouldn't talk to anyone. Steph put her phone down and told Lester and Ranger what she found out from Bobby and then picked her phone back up and shared the picture with them. Ranger laughed, again, while Lester groaned and laid his head down on the table. Steph told him that she'd help him figure it out and she was going to call Hector and see if he would come to Boston. They only had another day in town, but she wanted to help the guys. She knew if she asked Ranger, he would delay their departure for Chicago.

They finished their lunch and headed back to RangeMan and went upstairs to their apartment. Before she could text Manny, he showed up at the apartment. He was holding his phone and when he saw Lester, he told him congratulations and then joined Ranger in laughing. Manny told Lester to come down to the apartment where he was staying and he'd make him some breakfast.

Steph gave Les a kiss on the cheek and as the guys were walking out the door, Ranger called out, "Hey don't worry about insurance for your new husband. I made sure that same sex marriages were covered when I updated our policies last year." Lester threw up a hand gesture and walked out the door with Manny trailing behind. Steph looked at Ranger and said, "How could you keep laughing at him? Did you see how upset he is about this 'marriage'?" "Babe." "Seriously Ranger? We're not leaving Boston until we get this figured out for Lester and Hector. Bobby is going to try get Hector to come down here and work it all out. If Hector doesn't listen to Bobby, I will call him. If they are really married, then we'll help them get it annulled." Steph stopped talking and looked at her phone again. Then she looked at Ranger and finally she laughed. "Couldn't happen to two nicer guys!"


End file.
